Friday, April 26, 2013

The Blessing of Seeing the Fruit

This week we did a Spring tradition for us....

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STRAWBERRY Picking;)

Chris eating Strawberries at the patch
Chris in 2008 - eating from my picked bucket:)
We've done it every year:) Every year....

 I've done it preggo and  with a 12 month old. And then the following year with a 24 month old, 6 month old and preggo with another one (LOL!!). The next year it was an almost 3 yr old, 18 month old and 5 month old (that was just crazy!!)....

and on and on....

There were some years and times I thought I was crazy... no, I knew I was crazy! The pictures were adorable but often it was
LESS than fun. Remember.. pictures are only 1/50 of a second or less... they don't always capture the whole story;)

And the mess... I just came to expect it:) But the kids were messy! I just smiled and remembered that the hose at home was easy to hook up and everything was washable:)

This year was different.... WAY different!!

IMG_1793We'd had a long afternoon running errands and meeting up with people. The kids were tired, thirsty and tired!! And really, the idea of strawberry picking was quickly becoming "a bad idea". But the kids begged to go (mixed in with Nate's fussing b/c he was tired).

I lowered my expectations to... lets get a few strawberries, some "strawberry pickn pics" and be on our way... quick, easy, no quota:)

I was quickly surprised at the kids' abilities. They knew what to do, what NOT to do, they went down the rows looking for the ripest berries like pros, no complaining...


IT. WAS. AWESOME!!

We picked and picked;) No quota but we came home with plenty for the weekend:)

And if only the berries and great attitudes were the measure of a great time than is was a successful trip, but I heard from the back of the van, "This has been a great day!"

I could concur:)  I was thrilled about something else too.

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IMG_1785I was seeing the fruit of those many crazy years of dragging little ones down the strawberry rows so we could "stock the freezer". In my head I knew that the years were "training years"  but often my heart was distracted by the behavior or trying to make some "quota" or accomplish some temporary goals.

You know... those years were hard! I didn't always have the right attitude. I didn't always have a good game plan trying to go in between naps and meals. But I still tried year after year... doing something that was supposed  be fun... wondering if it ever would be "fun"!

I was exciting to see the fruit of those training trips!!! I look forward to more strawberry patch trips this season... and  maybe get to stock the freezer???

But it definitely challenges me to keep training...

I'm not  out of those "training years" yet! Motherhood can be challenging but I wonder how many more things we will soon be able to enjoy more as a family if I remain faithful to train my precious crew!!

For those who care there are also more pics of our picking this year... including Anna's biggest berry, Nate looking grown and  a furry member of the family who also likes strawberries:)

1 comment:

Jenny said...

That is so exciting! All of these years have paid off.