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黛布尔留下的卡片里，写有帮助女儿成长的实践性建议，包含着一个母亲对女儿最深沉的爱。每当读到这些话语，姐妹俩就感觉到母亲依然和她们在一起。
她们经常想起卡片上母亲说的话：“我希望你们知道自己永远是特别的，我会永远深爱着你们……”
Charlotte and Katie's parents died within months of each other……but every birthday the sisters receive cards from their mother with almost unbearably touching words of guidance.
There is just a small pile of no more than half a dozen cards and a couple of labels1 from Christmas and birthday presents.But Charlotte Matalon produces each of the items from her Special Box，which she keeps beside her bed，as if they are priceless jewels.
She looks at the card dated October 1996.'My darling Charlotte，'she reads，barely needing to look since she knows it by heart.'I am writing this card because I have recently found out that sadly I will not be with you on your 10th birthday……'
Six weeks after writing this tragic message，Debra Matalon，Charlotte's mother died from breast cancer.She is just 35，but she has provided a unique legacy.
Before she died，Debra wrote a birthday card to each of her two daughters，Charlotte，now 11，and 10-year-old Katie.For them to open every birthday.It is this gesture which has helped the girls come to terms2 with their terrible grief3.
So far they have each received two messages from their mother.There are also a couple more cards in their sad little boxes.These are from their father Alan，sent while he，too，was in hospital，his body consumed by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.Too weak to write，he just managed to gather the strength to sign a faltering4'Daddy'.
The girls，who now live with their grandparents，carefully store the cards back in their boxes and put them away.They each have My Mummy＆Me and My Daddy＆Me photo albums，which they scan5 while trying to grasp any fresh insight into their parents，or recall the lives they had as a family.
The cards Debra has left contain a mixture of practical advice for growing girls and simple statements of a mother's love for her children.Reading those words，the sisters feel，is to discover，that their mother seems to be still with them.
Both often think of what their mother has said in her card，'I want you to know that you have always been very special and I have and always will love you dearly6……'
After writing to Charlotte about growing up and the change from being a girl to a young woman，Debra adds，'Please have fun on your 11th birthday and remember Mummy and Daddy are always with you.'
Both girls have written letters to their parents in reply.Charlotte tells them about how she went bowling and about a trip to London Zoo.Katie has written how she will never forget her Daddy，'I know he's still with me.'
Writing about womanhood，Debra says，'I remember how embarrassed I was at the time，just remember that every single 10 to 14-year-old has gone through these changes，so don't be afraid and don't be embarrassed.'
Charlotte puts the card down.'There are times when I'd like to be able to ask Mummy things，'She says，'just things about life and what to do in a difficult situation at school or whatever.'
But she knows there are more cards to come.She doesn't know when or how many，but Debra has given a far greater legacy than her will could ever provide.'A present doesn't say what you think，'Charlotte says，'but a card does.'
And then she reads the words that echo more powerfully than any.'You are a wonderful girl and remember what Mummy and Daddy have taught you.Look after one another.Lots of love，as always，Mummy.'
夏洛特和凯蒂的父母于几个月内相继离开了人世……但是，每年的生日，姐妹俩都能收到她们母亲的贺卡，卡片上语重心长的教诲让人感动不已。
六七张贺卡和两张书签，这都是夏洛特·马特龙收到的圣诞礼物和生日礼物。她将这些卡片视为无价珍宝，精心保存在床头一个特制的盒子里。
她凝视着那一张日期为1996年10月的贺卡。“我亲爱的夏洛特，”她读道，几乎都不用看，她已经能背下来了，“我很难过，不能与你共度10岁生日，特寄此卡片，以表祝贺……”
写下这张卡片六个星期之后，她的妈妈黛布尔·马特龙就因乳腺癌去世了。她只有35岁，却给女儿留下了一笔独特的遗产。
去世之前，黛布尔分别给她两个女儿——11岁的夏洛特和10岁的凯特写好了生日卡片。这样，每逢生日她们都可以收到礼物。正是这份良苦用心，帮助她们姐妹俩战胜了难以承受的巨大悲痛。
到现在为止，她们每个人都已经收到了母亲的两张卡片。在那让人心酸的小盒子里，还存放着另外一些卡片，那是她们的父亲阿伦寄来的。当时他因淋巴肿瘤也住在医院，身体已经虚弱到无法动手写字了，但他仍用尽浑身气力颤抖着写下了歪歪斜斜的“爸爸”二字。
姐妹俩现在与她们的祖父母住在一起，她们小心翼翼地把每张卡片放进盒子里，储存起来。她们每人都有一本“妈妈和我”“爸爸和我”的相册，这样，她们可以随时拿出来翻看，回忆有关父母的点点滴滴，重温昔日家庭生活的温馨。
黛布尔留下的卡片里，写有帮助女儿成长的实践性建议，包含着一个母亲对女儿最深沉的爱。每当读到这些话语，姐妹俩就感觉到母亲依然和她们在一起。
她们经常想起卡片上母亲说的话：“我希望你们知道自己永远是特别的，我会永远深爱着你们……”
在写给夏洛特的卡片上，谈到她的成长——由一个女孩转变成为一个年轻女子。黛布尔接着写道：“祝你11岁生日快乐，记住，妈妈与爸爸永远都和你在一起”。
姐妹俩都给父母写回信。夏洛特告诉他们，她怎么打保龄球，还有去伦敦动物园游玩的情形。凯蒂曾写道，她永远忘不了爸爸，“我知道他仍然和我们在一起。”
谈到女性的问题，黛布尔说道：“我还记得自己当时的困窘，要记住，每一个10到14岁的女孩子都会经历这些变化，所以，不要害怕，也不要难为情。”
夏洛特放下卡片，“很多时候，我真的想能问妈妈一些问题，”她说，“比如生活中的一些问题，或者学习上的困难等等。”
但是，她知道还将有更多的卡片寄过来，只是不知道什么时候，也不知道还有多少。然而，黛布尔留给孩子们的遗产，其价值远远超过遗嘱的分量。“一份礼物表达不出内心的想法”夏洛特说，“但是，一张卡片却能。”
接着她读出母亲写给她的话，这些话语，比任何东西都更富感染力，更能引起共鸣：“你是一个了不起的女孩，记住妈妈和爸爸对你们说过的话。你们姐妹俩要相互照应。妈妈永远深爱着你们。”
生词与短语 New Words and Expressions
1.label n.标签（记）；称号
2.come to terms妥协，和解
3.grief n.悲伤，悲痛；悲伤的事，悲痛的缘由
4.falter v.（嗓音）颤抖
5.scan v.细看，审视；扫描；浏览
6.dearly adv.深深地（爱等）
妙语连珠：Beautiful Sentences
1）It is this gesture which has helped the girls come to terms with their terrible grief.
正是这份良苦用心，帮助她们姐妹俩战胜了难以承受的巨大悲痛。
2）And then she reads the words that echo more powerfully than any.
接着她读出母亲写给她的话，这些话语，比任何东西都更富感染力，更能引起共鸣。
心灵感悟：
天堂寄来的信与贺卡对姐妹俩来说是父母留给她们最珍贵的遗产，虽然他们不会再陪伴在她们身边，可是其中饱含的爱却给了她们无限的温暖。
