My Day

Ahhhhhhh.

It feels soooo good to be sitting down.

The mission conference officially ended last night. The whole week was wonderful. Now if I can only put in to practice what I've learned.

It was wonderful - but also exhausting. I stayed up late every night, and last night was the latest. I figured I could sleep in on Saturday, and have a pretty light and easy day.

I've never been so wrong.

Well... I was right about the sleeping in part. The clock said eight-thirty-something when I woke, and the first thing I heard was Mom reminding me that we were going blueberry picking this morning.

After a quick breakfast, we headed out. I had to do my morning Bible reading while in the car. The drive to the blueberry farm is a long one, but very pretty. So much beautiful land!

I could hardly believe it when we got to the farm, and found out that the price for blueberries this year is $3 a quart. We could get them on sale in the store for that much, and not have to pick them! Ah, but who would want to miss the hot, sticky fun of picking blueberries?

The bushes we were picking from were 33 years old, which meant they were huge, towering over all of us like great bushy soldiers. The picking was a little scarce, but we started in anyway. The tops of the bushes had the most berries left on them, so picking meant a lot of stretching and standing on tiptoe. I wish I had a picture of Lezley sitting on Justin's shoulders in order to reach the berries, but our camera batteries died.

The strange thing about berry picking is how easy it is for the first five minutes, and how the last two inches of your bucket miraculously refuse to fill up. When I'm picking strawberries, I always think that they are the worst to pick, because you must squat the whole time, but when I'm picking blueberries, I think they are the worst to pick, because they are so little, and it takes so many to fill a bucket.

Anyway, there we spent our morning; picking away, avoiding bees, and trying to fill our buckets. I heard one of my siblings proudly tell Mom, "I'm putting two berries in the bucket for every one I eat!" I dryly retorted, "That means you're eating one for every two you put in the bucket."

I actually had the most fun this morning I've ever had picking blueberries; but by the end of the morning I was really tired. That bucket was heavy, yet it refused to fill all the way. I just wanted to be finished! Heat and humidity were both present in the berry patch this morning. My darling brother, Justin, came to get me when everyone was ready to leave (we had all spread out, in order to make the best of the scarce picking), and he carried the bucket to the van for me. I loved him for that! Funny, how little things can become huge blessings when you're tired.

But my day wasn't over. Yesterday, I had told Mom that I planned to recruit my siblings and clean our backyard today. Yesterday.... back when I was full of energy.

We had to make a stop at our church on the way home, and while we were there we did some cleaning; the busy week had left its mark on the building.

When we reached home, at 2:30, I was ready for lunch. I had three slices of homemade bread, with dressing, cheese, and lots of tomatoes on them. With my stomach satisfied, I was ready to chill out on the couch. ...But my diligent mother reminded me of my plans for the backyard.

My siblings had other things to do, so I spent the afternoon cleaning our backyard by myself. Scraps of wood, ...outdoor toys, ...containers of rabbit food and bedding, ...empty plant containers, ...misplaced garbage cans, ...piles of leaves, ...a wheelbarrow, ...misplaced tools,...and other things contributed to a fairly big mess out there. The yard was really overdue for a straightening!

To say that I became hot and sweaty is putting it politely. I was spending the hottest part of the day outdoors in sunny humid Virginia, doing fairly heavy work, and I was wet. Ugh. I was also exhausted. But it felt so good to see the yard tidy!

I ran inside for a quick drink of water, grabbed a basket, and went out to the garden. There, I picked a nice amount of tomatoes and cucumbers. I hope to make pickles on Monday! And the tomatoes are really starting to roll in around here. We can no longer use them up just by eating tomato sandwiches every lunch. Now we get to be more creative!

After picking, I headed down to our nice cool basement, into our family's little workshop. My brother, Curtis, and I are working on a wood project together, and it needed some more work. We spent a good hour or hour and a half gluing wood pieces together, sawing, and sanding. We finished with about a half-hour to spare before supper. I had time to take a shower!!! Mixing steamy clothing with garden dirt and sawdust is a good way to get filthy.

It felt so good to get clean. I even had two minutes to sit on my bed and look at the computer before the supper bell rang! I'm not sure what was more enjoyable at the table; being able to sit, or eating.

I was soooo ready to collapse back on my bed after supper, but I discovered that the day still wasn't over. Mom gave me the choice of either helping to prepare food for tomorrow, or giving one of my brothers a hair cut. I chose the hair cut.

I'm ashamed to say I let a few tears fall as I got out all the hair-cutting supplies. "This isn't fair! I'm so tired, and I don't get to take a break! I've been working all day, and I picked the most blueberries this morning, and I picked up the whole back yard, and I've been on my feet every minute, and I'm still suppose to stand here and cut hair!" I'm thankful I didn't cut my brother's head off! I have so much to learn about keeping a cheerful attitude. I sure didn't do much today compared to the everyday life of my ancestors, yet I was complaining in my heart. I was acting proud because I had done what I was suppose to do, and hurt because I didn't get what I thought was my just dues. How far I have to go towards being conformed to the image of Christ!

But now I am sitting here with my feet up, hair cut finished, and a short evening left to me. I'm thankful for what I accomplished today, and I'm thankful I have a new day ahead of me. I'm thankful for cold showers, and soft beds! I'm thankful for a God who loves me in spite of my sin. I'm thankful for a Holy Spirit who convicts and changes me.

All in all, I think I've had a pretty good day.