Blueberry picking
We’ve been lax in the pick-your-own produce department this year, but squeezed in a trip to Greg’s U-Pick It in Clarence this week to pick blueberries. They are such a rewarding pick, falling into your hands without the need to reach up or stoop. Great product placement, in grocery parlance.
Another reason, in addition to anti-oxidants, why blueberries are the perfect food. Some blueberries are sweet, others not so much. Just like where we are in life -- at that bittersweet point in our family where we split up and do things in smaller groups instead of piling into the minivan to go on family outings.
We’ve gone from Together We Stand to Divide and Conquer. Now, we sub-divide, optimize, this one goes here, this one there. The good news is that we get fewer complaints.
Past fruit-picking experiences have generated many more grievances from those who would rather not dedicate an afternoon to understanding the food chain. This time, it was just me and my daughter, and she willingly came along, vs. being forced into family fruit picking.
This time of life is taking some getting used to, but has its own rewards. We’re getting to know our kids more as individuals than as a herd. But the speed at which we went from the togetherness of The Waltons to the individualism of Walden caught me by surprise.
Last night I suggested that we all do something as a family and asked the kids to check out Gusto to see what was going on. When I came home from work, they had suggested, “How about if we go out for pizza and you and dad go next door to the Indian restaurant?” We agreed, we much prefer a change of culinary pace to the usual pizza, which is one of the few foods everyone eats in our family.
So I guess it has come to this – separate restaurants!
Subconsciously that’s why we got a dog last summer, sensing the pack was beginning to disperse. At least we have someone who greets us at the door with a wagging tail and will go with us anywhere, any time – probably even for Indian food. And today when I accidentally dropped our newly picked fruit on the floor, we discovered the dog likes blueberries. Who wants to bet that he will be accompanying me next picking season when everyone else has something better to do?
---Allison
