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同六个姐妹一起长大是不容易的。多少年来，我们彼此有着不同的观念。父母手头一直都不宽裕，有时甚至食品都出现匮乏。填饱肚子对我们来讲已算是幸运的了。如果哪天晚上有甜点，那真是了不起的享受了。
The Days of Picking Blueberries1)
Growing up with six sisters wasn't easy．We had our share of differences of opinions over the years．My parents never had much money and even food was sometimes scarce2)．We were lucky to get our stomachs full．If there was dessert at night it was surely a treat．
I will never forget that summer back in 1969．Funds were very tight because my parents were building a new home．We had outgrown the old house and every penny my father earned was going into the new one．The last few days before payday were the worst．
There just wasn't enough food to go around．I can remember how we waited for payday as if it were a holiday．My father would stop at the bank on the way home from work so my mother could go shopping when he got home．We all enjoyed going to the grocery3) store with her．We would walk down the aisles4) and dream about bringing the whole store home，much like children would walk through a toy store．When we returned home with the groceries，my sisters and I were like a pack of wolves tearing through the bags．On payday we would eat until we were ready to burst，knowing that as the week progressed food would become less available．Going to school also wasn't very easy．We never had any lunch money．My parents were too proud to sign us up for free lunch．We never had the proper school supplies or nice clothes to wear．This was probably the hardest thing my sisters and I had to go through．The other children were relentless in teasing us．
One day my father came home and told us he knew where there were some wild blueberries growing．We had permission to go pick them and we were so excited．Not very often did we get to go anywhere，and to go pick blueberries was a real treat．
I can remember being out there in the hot sun all day picking blueberries．I think we ate more than we brought home．When we got home，my mother decided to make a blueberry pie．She made the pie from scratch and spent half the day working on it．We couldn't wait．The smell of it baking in the oven was driving us crazy．We were all starting to hover5) around in the kitchen and my mother was getting annoyed．She put the pie on the top shelf to cool while we ate our dinner．
Dinner was hard to get down that night，knowing that the pie was in the kitchen waiting for us．We were having stuffed peppers6) that night and nobody wanted to eat them．But my mother wouldn't let anyone leave the table until everyone was finished．When my mother told us we had eaten enough，it sounded like a stampede7) of cattle as we raced for the kitchen．I was the first in line at the counter top．
Before my mother could get there，I had already jumped on the counter top and was up on the top shelf of the cabinet．I reached for the pie and started climbing down．Then it happened．I slipped on the wet counter top and let go off the pie．I can close my eyes today and still see the vivid8) image of that pie flipping though the air in slow motion and landing up－side down on the floor，then looking up and seeing the look of disbelief on my sister' s faces．All I could think of was all the hard work we had done that day and how fast it had been destroyed．
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This is the night I'll never forget in my whole life．My family always brings it up on the holidays．Life was tough back then，but it taught us to appreciate what we have today even more．
