When I was having a chit-chat with my colleague, she asked me all of a sudden, “How did your husband propose to you at that time? Was it romantic?” I was numbed by her words for a while, and then burst into laughter, “My husband is a bitrigid, so do you think his proposal would be romantic?” Though I said in that way, I felt very sweet in heart when thinking of my husband’s proposing to me. To be honest, his proposal was actually by no means romantic without flowers, diamond ring and any other surprise. It was even could not be called “marriage proposal”.

当我正和同事闲聊的时候，她突然问我，“那时候你丈夫是怎么向你求婚的？浪漫吗？”我被她问愣了一会儿，然后爆出大笑，“我丈夫有点儿死板，你想他的求婚会浪漫吗？”话虽如此，但想起我丈夫向我求婚的情形，我心里还是感到非常甜蜜。说实话，他的求婚其实一点儿都不浪漫，没有鲜花、钻戒或者其它任何惊喜。那甚至都不能称之为“求婚”。

At that time, he gave me a book about Ireland, which, now I am thinking was a long-established plan. At the weekend when I finished the book, he came to me and asked me whether I had finished the book. Seeing me nod my head, he felt very pleased and said to me in a low but happy voice, “If you like, we can get married in an Irish way!”

那时候，他给了我一本关于爱尔兰的书，现在想起来，他其实蓄谋已久。当我周末看完这本书，他过来问我是否已经读完。看到我点头，他非常高兴，然后以低沉而快乐的声音对我说，“如果你愿意，我们可以象爱尔兰人那样结婚！”

At that time, my heart was totally convinced by the romantic and sacred law of marriage in Ireland. The book told me that Ireland believes in Catholicism and prohibited divorce. Therefore, when a couple get married, they are supposed to choose the time of their marriage which ranges from 1 year to 100 years. The most impressive of this law of marriage lies in the inverse relationship between the time of marriage and the fees to be charged. If you choose 1 year for your marriage, you shall pay as much as 2, 000 sterling pounds plus receiving a dictionary-thick reference of rights and responsibilities. But if you choose 100 years, then you are very lucky and only need to pay 0.5 pound for the fees and receive a short but heart-touching note in all women’s eyes: “I have no idea the clear rights and responsibilities for my left hand to my right hand, my right leg to my left leg, my left eye to my right eye and my right sphere of brain to the left. Actually, they are an integrated whole and live by each other and cheer for each other. Finally, I would like this pink note to convey my best wishes to your one-hundred-year marriage! May you live happily all your lives!”

当时，我的心完全被爱尔兰婚姻的浪漫和神法捕获。书里说，爱尔兰人信仰天主教，禁止离婚。因此，当一对恋人结婚时，他们将会从一到一百年之间选择他们的婚龄。这个婚姻法最令人印象深刻的在于婚龄的选择和相应所付费用的反比关系。如果你选择一年婚龄，你需要付差不多两千英镑，外加接受一本厚如字典的关于权利和责任的参考资料。但是如果你选择一百年婚龄，那你就非常幸运，只需要付半个英镑， 接受一张简短但让任何女人都深受感动的纸条；“我不知道我的左手对右手，我的右腿对左腿，我的左眼对右眼，以及我的右脑对左脑应该享受怎样的权利，承担怎样的责任。事实上，它们是一个整体，相互依赖相互扶持。最后，我希望这张粉色纸条能向你们的百年婚姻传达我所有美好的祝福！祝你们终生幸福！”

I still remember at that time that I said to my husband, “Ok, so sir, please choose the time you expect our marriage to last!” He said happily, “I even do not bother to think about it and would definitely choose 100 years because it is highly money-saving!”

我依然记得当时我对丈夫说，“那么好吧，先生，请选择你所期待的婚姻期限！”他愉快地说，“我根本不需要去想，肯定是一百年，因为它最省钱了！”

Later, I married him, a man who would like to stay with me for 100 years. Although we are not bound by the law of marriage in Ireland, we have cherished our vow to discipline ourselves all the time. We have married like Irish people and look on our marriage as a life-long commitment and spare no effort to nourish it hand in hand as we are gradually aging together.

后来，我嫁给了他，这个愿意和我相伴百年的男人。虽然我们不至于被爱尔兰的婚姻法约束，但我们仍然珍视这段让我们始终自律的誓言。我们象爱尔兰人一样结婚，把我们的婚姻视作终生的承诺，不遗余力地精心呵护并携手共老。

I also sincerely hope that every pair of lovers in the world can get married like Irish people and love and protect each other whole-heartedly by committing themselves to a 100-year marriage.

我也衷心希望世上每一对有情人能象爱尔兰人那样终成眷属，全心全意彼此爱护，共赴百年之约。

注：“爱尔兰式”的婚姻承诺是什么？爱尔兰人信仰天主教，禁止离婚。因此，当一对恋人结婚时，他们将会从一到一百年之间选择他们的婚龄。