Yesterday I had the divine pleasure of spending two full hours picking cherries from a cherry tree. You see, my Grampa Jerry has this cherry tree in his yard that he uses to make his infamous cherry pies, from scratch. They are amazing. Enough said. But since he's not quite the strong, youngster he use to be he's not really up to picking the cherries. So, being the wonderful granddaughter that I am, I volunteered to go over there with my dad and pick them for him.
It wasn't quite so hard in the beginning. We were just getting the bottom ones first. Kind of made my arm a little sore, but no biggie. Then it came time for the top stuff. We went to the garage and managed to find some pretty stable ladders. Which is a good thing, because out of everyone in the family my dad and I are the two most likely to fall off of those ladders. I get up there and realize I'm going to be there a while. There's cherries EVERYWHERE! Branches keep smacking me in the head, threatening to knock me down. Bugs are flying straight into my face. The way I'm situated on my ladder, if I angle my face a certain, I'm looking directly into the sun. After ten minutes I'm drenched in sweat. I don't know how, but we managed to get the job done.
I have to give myself credit, though. The whole time we were picking cherries I never once entertained the notion of just quitting. I know my dad would have let me, but I didn't even think about it. It made me realize that not everything in life is free. We take so much stuff for granted, like being able to buy cherries at the store. I mean, why grow your own cherries when you can just buy them? But it's not quite the same. You get a little more out of life knowing that you worked hard to earn those cherries. They weren't just handed to you. I believe I'd rather earn my things from hard work and determination. Not by cheating my way through.
It also made me really respect laborers. The people who get out there day after day and do the hard, back-breaking work that others can't, and most don't even think about. Jobs like picking cherries, building houses, keeping our sewers nice, etc. We assume that these odd jobs just get done, just happen, no one ever really stops to think about how they get done. Who is making them happen. I really do admire these people for their hard work, because honestly, I don't know if I could do it. Sure I can do work. But work like that?
Well, there's my little rant for the day. Kind of random, but kind of necessary. In a way.
Words of Wisdom: NEVER leave your cell phone behind. You could miss out on an opportunity to meet a guy who stole a car just to meet a girl and her friends at the local zoo. And he doesn't even have his license yet.
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