I wasn，t the jelly maker in this family. My mother-in-law was. She didn，t provide a wide range of flavors，either. It was either grape or blackberry. And since we liked both flavors，we usually picked whatever jar was at the front of the pantry or refrigerator.
The only contribution I made to the jelly making was to save baby food jars，which my mother-in- law would fill with the tasty gel，seal with wax and send back home with us. For the past 22 years of my married life，whenever I wanted to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for myself or my husband or the children，all I had to do was reach for one of those little jars of jelly. It was always there. Jelly making was just a way of life for my mother-in-law. She always did it， following the same rituals-from picking the fruit to setting the finished jelly on shelves.
My father-in-law died several years ago and this past December，my mother-in-law also passed away. Among the things to be divided by her children were the remaining canned goods in the pantry. When my husband brought his jars home，we carefully put them away in our pantry.
The other day I reached in there to retrieve jelly for a quick sandwich，and there it was. Sitting all alone on the far side of the shelf was a small jar of grape jelly. The lid was somewhat rusty in places. Written on it with a black marker was“GR”for grape and the year the jelly had been made.
As I picked up the jar，I suddenly realized something that I had failed to see earlier. I reopened the pantry door to be sure. Yes，this was it，this was the last jar of“Memommie jelly ”. We would always have store-bought jelly，but this was the last jar we would ever have from the patient，loving hands of my mother-in-law. Although she had been gone for nearly a year，so much of her had remained with us. We hardly ever opened a jar of jelly at the breakfast table without kidding about those thousands of little jars she had filled. Our children had never known a day without their grandmother，s jelly. It seems like such a small thing，and most days it was something that was taken for granted. But today it seemed a great treasure.
Holding that last jar in my hand，my heart traveled back to meeting my mother-in-law for the first time. I could see her crying on our wedding day，kissing and loving our children. I could see her walking the fields of the farm，patiently waiting while others tended to the cows. I could see her walking in the woods or riding the hay wagon behind the tractor. I saw her face as it looked when we surprised her by meeting her at church. I saw her caring for a sick spouse and surrounded by loving children at the funeral.
I put the jelly back on the shelf. No longer was it just a jar of jelly. It was the end of a family tradition. I believed that as long as it was there，a part of my mother-in-law would always live on.
We have many things that once belonged to my husband，s parents. There are guns，tools，handmade sweaters，and some furniture. We have hundreds of pictures and many more memories. These are the kinds of things that you expect to survive the years and to pass on to your children. The jar of jelly won，t keep that long. It will either have to be eaten or thrown out...but not today.
我们的孩子是吃着花生酱果冻夹心的三明治长大的。甚至丈夫和我有时也会在深夜偷偷拿一块就着一杯牛奶吃。我深信三明治伯爵自己也会赞同我的观点：这广受世人喜爱的混搭食物的成功并不在于所用花生酱的牌子，而在于果冻。适合的果冻能让味蕾雀跃，而自制果冻是唯一的选择。
在家里我不做果冻，是我婆婆做。她也不会做很多口味的果冻，不是葡萄味就是黑莓味。因为两种风味的我们都很喜欢，所以我们常常随手拿橱柜和冰箱里靠前的果冻瓶。
我为果冻制作所做的唯一贡献就是收集婴儿食品的瓶子，婆婆会将这些瓶子装满美味的果冻，用蜡封住口然后让我们带回家。结婚这22年来，无论何时，当我想为自己、丈夫或孩子做花生酱果冻三明治了，我所需做的只 不过是从那些小果冻瓶中拿出一个，它一直在那儿。做果冻只是婆婆的一种生活方式，从挑选水果到把制成的 果冻放到架子上，她总是用同样的工序来做。
公公在几年前去世了，在刚过去的12月里，婆婆也离去了。她的孩子能分的东西包括橱柜里剩下的罐装食品。当我丈夫把他那份抱回家时，我们小心翼翼地把那些瓶子放进我们的橱柜里。
有一天我还是伸手去那儿拿果冻做速成三明治，它在那儿。一只装着葡萄果冻的小瓶孤独地伫立在架子的远端，瓶盖上已锈迹斑斑。瓶子上用黑色签字笔写着“GR”，代表“葡萄”，还有果冻制作的年份。
当我拿起瓶子，突然意识到之前忽略掉了什么，于是重新打开橱柜门确认。是的，就是这样的，这已是最后一瓶“祖母果冻”了。我们总能拥有商店里买到的果冻，但这将是我们从婆婆耐心、慈爱的手中得到的最后一瓶 果冻。尽管她去世已近一年，但她留给了我们太多的记忆。每次早餐时打开果冻瓶，我们几乎都会拿她那装满 果冻的几千个瓶子开玩笑。我们的孩子从来不知道没有奶奶的果冻的一天是怎样的。它看起来那么渺小，在很 多日子里，被我们当作理所当然，但今天，它如珍似宝。
手中紧握着最后一瓶果冻，心游回到第一次见婆婆的时光里。我看到她在我们的婚礼上哭泣，亲吻、宠爱我们的孩子；我看到她在农场的土地上行走，当别人去照看奶牛时，她耐心地等着；我看到她在林中前行，坐在拖拉机后面的干草车上；我看到当我们在教堂遇见她给她惊喜时她脸上的表情；我看到她对生病老伴的精心照料 和在葬礼上她被一群爱她的儿孙所围绕。
我将果冻放回架子上。它不再是简单的一瓶果冻，它是一个家庭传统的结束。我相信只要它还在，婆婆的一部分将会永存。
我们有很多曾属于我丈夫父母的物品，有枪、工具、手织毛衣和一些家具。我们有数百幅的照片和更多的回忆。它们就是你希望能够历久弥新、传承给自己儿女的那些东西。这瓶果冻不可能被永久保存，将来它不是被吃 完就是被扔掉，但不是今天。
patiently
【释义】adv. 耐心地；有毅力地
【短语】as patient as job 非常有耐心；patient with 对……有耐心
Earl of Sandwich三明治伯爵。三明治本是英国东南部一个不大出名的小镇，
镇上有位三明治伯爵——约翰·蒙塔古，他酷爱玩纸牌。为了偷懒，他让仆人将菜和面包夹在一起给他吃，由此便开始有了今天的三明治。
concoction
【释义】n. 混合；混合物
pantry
【释义】n. 餐具室；食品室；食品储藏室
gel
【释义】n. [物化] 凝胶，胶体 vi. 胶化
seal [si？l]
【释义】n. 密封；印章；海豹；封条；标志 vt. 密封；盖章 vi. 猎海豹
【短语】put(set) the seal on 最终授权
wax
【释义】 n. 蜡；蜂蜡；石蜡；蜡状物
retrieve
【释义】n. [计] 检索；恢复，取回 vt. [计] 检索；恢复
【短语】beyond retrieve 不可挽回，不可恢复；to retrieve 找回，解救
lid英
【释义】n. 盖子；眼睑；限制 vt. 给……盖盖子
【短语】keep the lid on 克制（情感）控制（事态）
The Wedding-Band in the Leaves/ 橡树里的戒指
For the last ten years of her life，my grandmother wore two wedding bands on her finger： hers and my grandfather，s. After he died，she carried his memory always warm against her soft，wrinkled hand. This special link of love-gold touching gold-came late in life for them. It happened much earlier for Roe and me，and best of all，it was something we could share.
Following our summer wedding，Roe and I moved into our first home in the late fall. I remember standing on the lawn and thinking，wonderful things will happen here in the year to come. I also thought about the 17 tall oak trees that covered the small yard.
Soon we learned that once a year the township vacuums up and trucks away the leaves raked to the side of the road. But that first year Roe and I，both busy teaching school，missed the collection date. So we would have to rake and bag the leaves，then carry them to the town dump. The leaves were wet and covered with ice by the time we had a chance to gather them. Roe held the bags open as I scooped up and dropped in the leaves. I didn，t have gloves and had to blow into my cold hands. We raked and raked. One bag，five bags，15 bags. By the end of the day we had 40 large， leaf-filled plastic bags leaning against the garage.
