[00:00.77]Butterfly Kisses 蝶吻

[00:04.82]My newlywed husband said the same thing every morning.

[00:09.75]“You’re beautiful today.”

[00:11.71]One glance in the mirror revealed that it was far from the truth.

[00:16.64]A skinny girl with mashed hair on one side of her head

[00:20.97]and no makeup smiled back at me.

[00:23.63]I could feel my sticky morning breath.

[00:26.49]“Liar,”I shot back with a grin.

[00:29.65]It was my usual response.

[00:33.04]My mother’s first husband was not a kind man

[00:36.93]and the harsh words we heard growing up took root.

[00:40.59]I had trouble seeing myself as someone of value.

[00:44.42]I had been married two years when I surprised myself.

[00:48.68]My husband wrapped his arms around me and told me I was beautiful.

[00:54.04]“Thank you,”I said.

[00:56.45]The same thin girl with the mousy brown hair still stared back at me in the mirror,

[01:02.69]but somehow the words had finally blossomed in my heart.

[01:06.63]A lot of years have passed. My husband has grey in his hair.

[01:12.65]I’m no longer skinny.

[01:14.97]Last week I woke up and my husband’s face was inches from mine.

[01:20.41]“What are you doing?”I asked.

[01:23.69]I covered my mouth, trying to hide my morning breath.

[01:27.79]He reached down and kissed my face.

[01:30.48]“What I do every morning,”he said.

[01:33.65]He leaves in the early hours of the morning while I sleep.

[01:38.36]When he left, I rolled over and hugged my pillow.

[01:41.97]I envisioned the picture of me lightly snoring with my mouth open and giggled.

[01:47.33]What a man! My husband understands my past.

[01:51.82]He’s been beside me as I’ve grown from an unsure young girl to a confident woman,

[01:57.13]mother, speaker and author.

[01:59.48]But I’m not sure that he understands the part he played in that transition.

[02:05.05]The words I heard growing up pierced my soul, yet his words pierced even deeper.

[02:11.73]This Anniversary Day I plan to wake early.

[02:15.77]I want to tell Richard how much I love him.

[02:18.84]He may look in the mirror and see an extra pound or two,

[02:22.77]or wish for the day when his hair was dark and curly,

[02:25.84]but all I’ll see is the man who saw something in me when I couldn’t see it myself,

[02:31.75]and who leaves butterfly kisses, even after twenty-three years of marriage.