－“Why are you out there pulling weeds in the rain, mommy?” my son asked me through our open door.

－I smiled at him as warm Florida rain dripped down my cheeks. “Because it’s the perfect time, sweetie,” I answered.

－He gave me the You’re Crazy look and closed the door.

－“你为什么在雨天除杂草，妈妈？”我儿子透过我们敞开的门冲我问道。

－我冲他笑了笑，弗罗里达温暖的雨滴滴到了我的面颊。“因为这是最合适的时间，亲爱的。”我回答道。

－他给了我一个你看起来疯了的表情，便关上了门。

－We have a racetrack made of clay and sand in our backyard. (It’s a long story; we were part of a TV makeover.) The track is incredibly fun for my four boys, but it also requires some maintenance—namely, weeding.

－If you know anything about Florida vegetation, you know that everything grows like crazy here. It’s insane. I toss an avocado seed in the ground, turn around, and I’ve got a tree.

－我们后院的过道是由粘土和沙子构成的。(说来话长，我们家是电视节目大改造秀的参与者。) 这个过道对于我家的4个男孩来说有趣极了，但是需要一些维护，——更具体的说，除草。

－如果你对于弗罗里达的植被有任何了解，你应该知道任何东西在这里都疯狂生长。像疯了一样。我扔进地里一个牛油果的种子，转身间，就长成了一颗牛油果树。

－Weeds also grow like crazy here. If I didn’t pull weeds every week, my backyard would be a jungle by summer’s end. Usually that means working up (逐渐造成, 引起) a soaking sweat in thesweltering (vt. 热得难受) humidity trying to pry (v. 用…开) weeds from my baked-in-the-sun (在太阳下晒干的) clay racetrack.

－But in the rain? Well, that’s a different story. In the rain, the roots of the weeds slide (vi.滑动) easily out of the now-soft clay. In the rain, my clothes are still soaked, but my body is pleasantly cool. It feels good and productive to pull weeds in the rain.

－杂草在这里也生长的极好。 如果我不每周拔草，我的后院即将在夏天的尾巴变成一片热带雨林。通常这意味着要（一边）忍受着汗水把衣服黏在身上的感觉，（一边）顶着潮湿的闷热感，把野草从被太阳爆晒干的粘土跑道上拔掉。

－但是在雨天呢？这就是另外一回事了。 在雨天，野草的根部可以轻易的从柔软的粘土里轻易拔出。在雨天，我的衣服依旧会黏在身上，但是我的身体是很清爽的。在雨天拔草感觉其实很好而且非常的有效果。

－A while back (不久以前), my husband and I were going through a bumpy （adj. 颠簸的） spot in our marriage. Actually it was more like a stony ditch (n.沟渠) with shards of glass and wreckage（n. 残骸）. Things were difficult. There was screaming. There was crying. There was silence.

－We decided we needed help. So we started seeing a marriage counselor.It wasn’t fun. It was like prying weeds in a jungle in almost unbearable heat. It was horrible work, but we had to do it.

－不久之前，我和我丈夫刚刚经历了一次婚姻的坎坷点。其实这更像是一个碎石沟渠，里面填满了尖锐的玻璃和破碎物。事情非常的难处理。这期间有（对彼此呵斥的）尖锐的喊叫。有哭声。有沉默。

－我们决定我们需要帮助。所以我们开始寻找婚姻关系咨询师。这并不好玩。这个过程就像在一个热带丛林里顶着难以忍受的高温拔野草。这是件极其令人讨厌的工作，但是我们不得不去做。

－Things simmered down (vt. 平静下来) as we saw our counselor over a series of months. Slowly we recovered the beauty of the life we were living together. Eventually we got to a point where we didn’t know what we were supposed to talk about when we started our sessions because everything was going so well.

－But it was those sessions that were actually pleasant. Yes, they started out awkward. We felt crazy for being there when nothing was “wrong”. But our counselor started helping us gently work through issues that we didn’t realize were there. It wasn’t bad; in fact, it felt good and productive. My husband and I have stopped going to marriage counseling for a while now, and we’re doing fine. But in my backyard, as I was pulling weeds in the rain, I began to think maybe we should start again–while the weather of our relationship is best for weed pulling.

－事情在我们去见咨询师的治疗过程中逐渐平息下来。逐渐的我们恢复回了以前住在一起的美好时光。最终我们到了每次去见咨询师时竟然没什么可提的，因为一切都变得很好。

－但是这些治疗过程其实非常的舒服。是的，刚开始会让人感到非常的奇怪。我们都觉得我们之间居然什么问题都不存在了（这种状态）有点不太正常。但是我们的咨询师潜移默化的帮我们调整了一些我们并没有意识到的问题。这其实并不糟糕。相反，这感觉又好又有成果。于是我和我的丈夫（决定）停止婚姻咨询的疗程，而且我们依旧相处的不错。但是当我在后院淋着雨拔草时，我开始思考也许我们应该再次重新开始疗程——在我们婚姻关系的“天气”最适合除草的时候。

－People might look at us like we’re crazy. “Why spend time and money when there’s nothing wrong?” they may say.

－It might feel awkward. Working in the rain can feel that way.

－But I know what it’s like to pull weeds from dry clay. I know how it feels to struggle in the heat. I don’t want to do that again if I don’t have to. The work has to be done either way. Weeds grow like crazy. I’d rather gently pull weeds in the rain. It’s the perfect time, after all.

－人们也许会觉得我们疯了。“为什么把时间和金钱浪费在咨询上，特别是当你们的关系现在并没有出现问题的时候？”他们也许会这样问。

－也许会感觉很奇怪。在雨天工作确实会有这样的感觉。

－但是我知道这就像在晒干的粘土里拔草。我知道那种在高温下的难受和挣扎。我不想再次体验这种经历除非我不得不。有些工作可以用其他的方式完成。野草会（一直）疯长。我宁愿选择轻柔的在雨天拔草。总的来说，这是一个完美的时间（去处理问题）。