by Laurie Granieri

I believe in leaving work at 5 oclock. In a nation that operates on a 1）staunch 2）Protestant work ethic， this belief could be considered radical. Working only 40 hours a week？ I just dont know many people who 3）punch out at 5 oclock anymore. It seems downright quaint， like pocket watches and shoeshines.

My father tried to teach me the importance of hard work， long hours and dedication to a career. But then there are the things he taught me 4）unintentionally， like when he arrived home from work for the last time and crawled up the stairs.

My father， a self-employed sales trainer， was that sick， that tired. His body was wracked with liver cancer， and he suffered the effects of a diabetic 5）ulcer. Still， he insisted on traveling to honor his commitment to give a seminar. He probably earned a lot of money that day， and he paid the price. He returned to the hospital soon after and was dead within three months at age 58.

Its been 10 years since I saw my father come home that night， and since then Ive thought a lot about work. Ive decided something： I will never crawl up the stairs. As much as I love my job as a newspaper reporter， I will never work myself into the ground， literally or 6）figuratively.

我認為下午五點就該放下工作了。在一個嚴格奉行新教工作道德的國家，這種信念可算是太激進。每周只工作四十小時？我已經(jīng)看不到有多少人還會在五點鐘就打卡下班了。這種事情看起來完全是古舊怪異，與過時的懷表和鞋油無異。

我的父親曾試圖教育我勤奮工作、多花時間以及獻身事業(yè)的重要性。但后來，他卻在無意中教會我一些道理，例如在他最后一次下班回家爬上樓梯的時候。

我的父親是一名自雇的銷售培訓師。那時候，他已經(jīng)病得不輕，疲憊不堪。肝癌拖垮了他的身體，而他還飽受糖尿病潰瘍的折磨。然而，為履行承諾，他仍然堅持到外地主持一個研討會。他那天可能賺了不少錢，但他也付出了代價。不久后，他又住進了醫(yī)院，并且在三個月后就去世了，終年58歲。

那晚看到父親回家距今已有十年了，自那以后，我對工作這件事多番思量。我作出決定：我絕不要步父親后塵。作為一名報社記者，盡管我對自己的工作充滿熱忱，但我決不會玩命工作，“死而后已”，無論是從字面含義還是比喻意義上來說。

The idea of leaving work at work didnt come easily to me. After all， I am my fathers daughter. In college， I wasnt going to 7）keg parties in a 8） frat basement； I was the girl who lingered on the library steps each morning， waiting for the doors to open. I even dreamt about schoolwork.

My dad once told me he was unable to just gaze at a sunset. He had to be doing something as he looked at it—writing， reading， playing chess. You could say he was a success. He was a published author， an accomplished musician， fluent in German and the American 9）Sign Language. Thats an impressive list， but heres the thing： I want to gaze at sunsets. I dont want to meet a deadline during them or be writing a column at the same time， or glance at them over the top of a book.

This raises the question： If I leave work at 5 oclock to watch the sunset， what are the consequences？ Do I risk not reaching the top of my profession？ Maybe because honestly， knocking off after eight hours probably wont earn me the corner office or the 10）lucrative promotion.

But hey， leaving work at 5 oclock means I eat dinner with my family. I get to hop on my bike and pedal through the streets of my hometown as the shadows lengthen and the traffic thins.

And I get to take in a lot of sunsets. Thats got to be worth something.

只在工作時段工作的想法于我并非易事。畢竟，有其父必有其女。念大學時，我不去參加大學生聯(lián)誼會的地下室啤酒狂歡派對，而是每天一早就在圖書館的階梯上徘徊，等著圖書館開門。我甚至做夢時都在想著學校作業(yè)。

我父親曾經(jīng)告訴我，他就是沒法一動不動地觀看日落。看著日落時，他還得干點別的事——寫作、閱讀、下棋。你可以稱他是一位成功人士：他是一名出版過作品的作家，一位有造詣的音樂家，能說流利的德語，也能熟練運用美國手語。這一連串成就讓人印象深刻，但問題是：我想一動不動地觀賞日落。我不想在欣賞日落的時候還得趕最后期限，也不想一邊觀賞日落一邊還得給專欄趕稿，又或者是眼睛盯著書，偶爾才朝那一抹日落瞥上一眼。

這么做引發(fā)了一個問題：如果我五點就放下工作觀賞日落，會有什么后果？我是否就無法攀上職業(yè)的高峰？也許是吧，因為說實話，工作八小時就歇工，很可能讓我無緣搬進高層辦公室或升職加薪。

不過，嘿，五點就放下工作意味著我能和家人共進晚餐。我跳上單車，蹬著踏板，穿梭于家鄉(xiāng)的大街小巷，其時，夕陽將影子拉長，而街上則車少人稀。

因此，我觀看到了不少日落美景。而這肯定有其價值所在。