A fine and pleasant misery

Yesterday we went on our 4th annual blueberry picking expedition. We do this for the same reason we go camping-because we believe that shared suffering makes us closer as a family...and because we like blueberries. Actually, it's quite a fun family tradition. We pack a picnic lunch and drive 90 miles out to the country, to a u-pick farm. We usually pick a gallon or two of berries, have lunch, and enjoy a glass of blueberry lemonade from the country store there at the farm. Yesterday wasn't quite as much fun as usual though. We all went out to pick, but after 20 minutes, Leah was getting too hot, so I took the kids to sit under the fans on the porch while Dave picked. It took him a while to fill up our bucket without our help, so he picked for a long time until a sudden cloudburst sent him running back to the store. When he gets to where we are, he is soaked with sweat, has a headache, and is not feeling well due to the sun and the pain from his recent surgery. He can't take his pain pills because they make him woozy and nauseous, a bad combination for driving 90 miles. The rest of us are hot and tired as well. We get about 1/2 an hour towards home, and all of the sudden the traffic stops. They had entirely closed the highway and we were diverted onto a tiny surface street with the rest of the highway. Our 1-2 hour drive ended up being 3 1/2 hours, much of it with either Leah or Ellie fussing from boredom or hunger. Fun fun fun! All the same, we will undoubtedly do it again next year. Why? Tradition!