berry pickin'

60 pounds of strawberries.

2 ½ hours of picking strawberries leads to
aching backs,
sore legs,
tired children,
red-stained fingers,
and sunburned skin.

5 hours of washing, hulling, and freezing strawberries leads to
sore fingers,
even redder-stained hands,
a stomach ache from snitching too many,
and disgust as someone suggests having them for dessert.

But at the end of the day,
when all is said and done,
a smile spreads across my face
as I think of the joy this work will bring
on cold winter days,
when I long for summer again.