Our days are busy… even in the summertime. Every morning we have something (usually speech therapy for my daughter), so it’s rare to have a full free morning for a play date. One Tuesday, each month, we have NOTHING scheduled. I knew, in advance, today was the day so I made plans with my friend Lauren to go blueberry picking with her and her sons.
Lauren and I have known each other since I moved to Pennsylvania. We were pregnant with our kids (i.e., her oldest) at the same time. Izzy and Jack are five weeks apart and get along splendidly. In fact, they’re in the same parent/child class as us so we see a lot of each other during the school year. However, Lauren’s second son arrived two months ago, which means Izzy and Jack haven’t spent as much time together lately. Therefore, when I knew we had a free day, I immediately checked with Lauren to see if she was free.
Despite the gray sky and ominous weather report, we ventured down to Dillsburg to pick blueberries with the kids this morning. The kids picked berries off of the bushes and put them in their buckets. (Though Izzy ate more blueberries out of our buckets than she did from the bushes!) Being the kind of friend he is, Jack noticed he had more blueberries than Isabelle so he began feeding her some of his berries. They giggled as they shoved berries in their own mouths too. By the time we were finished, the kids’ fingers were sticky and their tongues were bluish-purple.
But it wasn’t all fruit and smiles. There were many bees in and around the bushes, which caused Izzy to scream many times. I landed up holding her a lot more than I expected, which meant we only picked 1.87 lbs. of blueberries by the end of the morning. 😦 Alas, being a mommy means being the one who comforts your child and tells them they’re safe even when a busy bee threatens their personal space. Therefore, we didn’t pick nearly as many blueberries as we did last summer.
While the bees terrorized Izzy, there were more squeals of happiness than there were cries of fear. Once we got into the car I asked Izzy, “Did you have a good time.” She nodded enthusiastically and said “yes” as clear as day. (When she says “yes” like that, she always means it.) 🙂
Even though we don’t have all that many blueberries, we’ll bake blueberry muffins later (Click here for the most incredible muffin recipe EVER!). And, we’re going to go back and pick blueberries again with some other friends next week. Hopefully the bees won’t be a nuisance to her next week.
Raising Literate Humans 
Love the blueberry season…hopefully there will be some left when I go to Michigan next week. I love hearing about Izzy’s friendship with Jack and how he helped her eat. xo
Hope you get the chance to do that too, Nancy! My favorite part, I decided, about blueberry picking is that you don’t have to stoop over like you do when you pick strawberries. Much better on the back!
BTW: I wish she would’ve eaten them one by one like he did. She enjoyed stuffing several into her mouth at a time!
Blueberries are so much easier to pick than strawberries! What a fun time with friends. Hopefully the bees will have pollinated and left before you return.
I am glad you took the time to share this. It tells so much, your bonding friendship with Lauren, the friendship of Izzy and Jack and a summer day picking blueberries. It just brims with life enjoyment.
What a great day! I remember those special outings when my niece and nephew were young…but the good thing is now we make new memories! Thanks for sharing another great moment 😉
Izzy’s adventure reminded me of Blueberries for Sal….picking blueberries ,and eating most of them , on a summer day should be a part of every child’s life.
I, too, thought of Blueberries for Sal. I thought the bees were less worrisome than bears might have been. But I was so scared of bees as a child that I think I would have welcomed a grizzly.
Despite the bees, sounds like a wonderful day, and there will be more times for blueberries in the future, I bet. I loved the photo, Stacey. Great that you had such a good outing, and with old friend Jack!
I’m so glad that she was able to enjoy the trip even with the bees! I feel a special pang when you mention her fear of bees because I still have a terrible fear of them myself! (Just ask my husband — I freeze up and start to emit a small, scared noise when a bee comes close… and I’m 29!) I love that you are already planning to bake muffins. Anything involving cooking doesn’t sound fun to me anymore, but I do have fond memories of baking treats like that with my mom, and your mention of muffins brings me back to those days.
Sounds like you had a wonderful day. Enjoy the muffins!
We would go to the pumpkin farm with our friends. Great pictures and no bees — a big plus since youngest is scared to death of them and I am not a big fan either. 🙂
Unfortunately those friends live almost two thousand miles away. Miss those days.
Isabelle will forget the bees, she’ll remember the joy of picking and eating the berries. Hopefully there will be less bees next time. A handful berries from a bucket is the best way to eat.