芬妮姨妈的蓝莓酱秘方

My Aunt Fannie was the blueberry jam woman. Of course， she wasnt really my aunt and， out of fear， I never called her that to her face. I only referred to her as “my Aunt Fannie”. The name always made my father chuckle and gave my mother cause to look sternly at both of us—at me for being disrespectful of my elder and at my father for encouraging my bad behavior.

As a young woman， my mother had worked in the kitchen of a large Victorian farmhouse owned by Fannie Cratty and her twin brother， Farnsworth. During those years my mother helped Aunt Fanny make the best blueberry cobbler jam ever tasted by anyone in Glenfield. She was noted for her jam and for never sharing the recipe with another living soul. Even though my mother knew the recipe by heart， as long as Aunt Fannie was alive， she never made the jam without Ms. Cratty in our kitchen to direct the process.

Each August， when blueberry season would roll around， my mother would prepare me for Aunt Fannies visit. It was imperative that I be on my best behavior. After all， the woman was old， wealthy， stern， and a pillar of the church. Whenever she was at the house， I didnt need to be reminded to guard my thoughts and watch my tongue.

One year， after I had been particularly helpful with the jam process， Aunt Fannie gave me a quarter and then made me promise that I would never spend it. “Hold onto this quarter，” she said， “and someday you will be rich. I still have my very first quarter， given to me by my grandfather.” It had obviously worked for her. So， I tucked the 1938-quarter in a small box， put it in my dresser drawer， and waited to become rich.

I now have the blueberry cobbler jam recipe and the quarter from Aunt Fannie. In peoples eyes Aunt Fannies success was attributed to that secret recipe. But to me， it was just a common recipe. Neither has significantly contributed to my net worth， but I keep them as reminders to hold onto the valuable things in life. Money can make you feel rich for a while， but it is the relationships and the memories of time spent with friends and family that truly leave you wealthy. And that is a fortune that anyone can build.

我的芬妮姨妈是做蓝莓酱的。当然，她并非我的亲姨妈。出于对她的畏惧，我从不这样当面称呼她，只在提及她时才用“我的芬妮姨妈”作指代。父亲总被这个称呼惹得咯咯笑，母亲也总板起脸瞪着我和父亲，瞪着我是因为我对长辈不敬，瞪着父亲是因为他纵容我使坏。

母亲年轻时在一个大户人家的厨房帮工，这户人家有一栋建于维多利亚时代的大房子。房子的主人是芬妮·克瑞蒂和她的双胞胎弟弟法斯沃。那些年里，母亲帮着芬妮姨妈做格伦菲尔镇公认最美味的蓝莓酱。芬妮姨妈因蓝莓酱而闻名，所有人都知道她不把秘方告诉别人。尽管那个秘方母亲早已背得滚瓜烂熟，但只要芬妮姨妈还在世，没有她在厨房里指导整个制作过程，母亲绝不会私下里做蓝莓酱。

每年8月是蓝莓的成熟期，母亲会让我为芬妮姨妈的到访作好准备。她命令我以最佳表现示人。毕竟这妇人上了年纪，富有、苛刻，还是教会的热心赞助者。她一到我家，我就会自觉地提醒自己不要乱说，不要乱想。

有一年，在我特别用心地帮忙做蓝莓酱后，芬妮姨妈给了我一枚25美分的硬币，并要我承诺决不会花掉它。她说：“紧紧抓住这枚硬币，总有一天你会变得富有。我还收藏着我拿到的第一枚硬币，那是我爷爷给我的。”看来，这枚硬币的确帮助她变得富有了。所以，我把那枚1938年制造的硬币装进一个小盒子里，然后把盒子放进我的梳妆台抽屉，等着成为有钱人。

我现在拥有了蓝莓酱的秘方和芬妮姨妈给的那枚硬币。很多人认为芬妮姨妈的成功得益于那个秘方。但对我而言，那不过是一个很普通的食谱。那枚硬币也好，秘方也罢，都没能为我的净资产的增加作出过贡献，但我仍保留着它们，只想借其提醒自己要把握人生中珍贵的东西。金钱只能让你暂时觉得富有，唯有和他人的情感以及和朋友、家人一起拥有的回忆才会让你真正地富有，并且那是每个人都可以创造的财富。endprint