Apparently my last post about bananas and hair was a hit... and I am happy to report that my head didn't sustain heavy losses and is on the road to recovery from the minor ordeal. But in actuality, my hair is very little tended to lately due to one minor (ahem, more like gigantic) part of my life...
I am working at the swamp again.
Don't get me wrong. Working at the swamp (aka North Fork) is a wonderful blessing. I get paid well and the people are wonderful. I love the environment and the people I work with, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. I am a greenhouse worker, which means I get to learn all about the wonderful species of native plants to climates like Idaho. Super DUPER interesting, huh? (I'm actually being serious here on that one.) But while working out there, I have added a few more bits of learning to the vast expanse extremely small amount space in my memory. Here are a few things I have learned:
1. Greenhouse work isn't all frolicking in beautiful flowers and basking in the glow of the sun through the greenhouse walls. No. No no no. Green house work is lifting stuff. A lot. What lots of people don't realize is that when plants grow up, you need to replant them. And then replant again. And you know that space it left behind? You have to move everything around the greenhouse to fill it in. Sometimes that's all I do most of the day and it's real tiring. But I won't say no to buff arms will I?
2. Once upon a time I played soccer. And I would get really stiff and sore from playing soccer and doing workouts. But then I worked at North Fork, and it was then I realized that I didn't know what sore was. Sometimes you bend over to pick things up quite frequently, and you become apparent of things that get sore that you didn't know could. Like finger joints and your whole flippin' back. But you get used to it, and I'm pretty sure my back is practically a steel plate by the end of the summer.
3. I used to think soccer tans were bad/good. Bad in that I get weird lines from socks and good that I get tan. WRONG. Working for 8 hours everyday makes you realize how utterly wrong that is. It's like the difference between watching Bambi vs Psycho. One is light and fluffy and about baby animals and the other is dark, scary, and intense. Didn't know tans could be scary? Well peeps, if you see the picture of my tan line from last summer, you would most likely scream due to the odd things blinding white and dark brown do to your eyes when seen at the same time. I'm sure it burns. But that also means you're tanner than most other people. Totes worth it.
4. Grass is grass, right? WRONG AGAIN. If you were to walk into greenhouse 2 at work, you would encounter a sea of grass. And it is all different. There are probably 10 different kinds in there. Now take some tweezers and go weed them of invading grasses. Your eyes feel like they might go cross eyed and stay that way due to straining your little gray cells to determine if that blade of grass is really the right species. It makes me more grateful that I can actually see stuff.
5. But most importantly, I have learned that hard work is always worth it. It makes the time go faster. You feel more satisfied with what you do. Even when there seems like an endless amount of 5 gallon buckets to carry, there's always someone to talk to.
P.S. If you want to learn more about North Fork Native Plants, look it up. These are all pictures from the website.
So, I will add my moral of the story like I usually do. Life is hard work. Some days are harder than others, but there is always someone there to help lift that DR 14 container to the next spot. There is always hope. Keep your head up. Push through it. Life isn't a punishment--it's meant to be enjoyed. It's not going to by a joy ride, but let's take time to relish in those happy moment, because that's what's most memorable. That's why life is worth it.
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