You’re welcome, is pretty much all I have to say. You don’t even know what you are thanking me for yet, but you’re welcome.
It’s now been almost four months since we lost our sense of normalcy and our every-day routines. It’s now summer, which means you should probably be getting ready to go to or send your kids off to summer camp. Or, you should be sitting poolside, beachside, lakeside, whatever body of water is your cup of tea. Unfortunately, most camps either closed down or are very restrictive and we can’t travel to our favorite destinations just yet.
I obviously don’t have children of my own, but I know how hard it must be for parents to have had their little ones home for these past few months. Or in my case, for my parents to have had their grown children home for these past few months. I’m a handful, what can I say. We are all a handful.
I am here to help all of you out. I’ve got the perfect new outdoor activity for you to do with your friends, family, imaginary friends, strangers, anyone you fancy really - except pets, no pets allowed. It involves a farm.
No, not Schrute Farms. I fricking wish. Sometimes, when what you really want isn’t available in life, you have to pivot. So, I went with the next best thing. When you can’t go beet picking, you go berry picking because it’s on your cousin’s summer bucket list of dreams!
(And if you live under a rock, that is Dwight Schrute’s family beet farm. And if you live under a boulder, Dwight is from The Office.)
At first, I laughed. BERRY PICKING?! Where do you want to go, Whole Foods, DeCicco’s or Shoprite? (Ha ha.)
But then I realized, hmmm. I’ve grown up going apple picking every year, but never have I ever gone berry picking. I don’t think any of us had ever gone, and our ages had a pretty wide range (Hi Grandma! Xx). Never too late to try something new! So, we were in.
Lucky for us, it really wasn’t rocket science. It’s the same premise. There were no new rules except you have to wear a mask AND the farm store would be closed which meant no donuts, no pies, no jam. The no jam thing really tore me up - I love a good piece of jelly toast.
Our neighboring pickers were mostly mothers with their little kids, but we didn’t mind. We went off and did our own thing. We had an hour time slot to pick our four quarts of strawberries, which was definitely much more time than we needed. It was very hot, so we got in and got out.
What was the biggest thing we noticed? Funny enough, it’s that the strawberries themselves were the farthest thing from big. They were so small! Like, we’re talking the size of a generously large cherry tomato. We assumed it was because they hadn’t been genetically modified or something in that realm of the pesticide / chemical world. But I’m no scientist. Regardless, they are definitely much juicier and sweeter.
These days, it’s getting more and more difficult to find something entertaining to do that is safe, but also is something that you haven’t already done 500 times. So, maybe drive for an hour and go some place new. Take the morning and go pick some berries or vegetables or whatever tickles your fancy! Spend the whole day up there! Who am I to to restrict your timeframe!
Oh and in case it wasn’t clear, the strawberry picking idea is what you are thanking me for. Really, my cousin for. So once again, you’re welcome.
So, now that we checked that off the list, it’s time to move onto the next thing: kayaking. Stay tuned!
Disclaimer: Items in the image are larger than they may appear.
I swear. They are smaller than they look.
My adorable, champion strawberry picker of a Mother