So satisfying!

Today I am at home to Idaho for a quick overnight trip. I came for two main reasons: to meet my brand new beautiful niece, whom I hadn't seen yet and to sooth ruffled feathers. Well, the soothing thing didn't quite pan out (the person whom I was pacifying ended up not coming), but it's been fun to meet that beautiful baby girl! I am such an idiot and forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures to post, but I will soon, believe me!

I should explain that coming home to my parents' house is not really a vacation experience; mostly it means another set of hands to help get stuff done, which my mom loves! I don't mind helping. One of the tasks my parents need assistance with was clearing our garden in the backyard so they can get it ready to replant. While my father's back is slowly improving from the herniated discs, he's still not anywhere near the level where he was before. He needs extra help whether he'll admit it or not!

My sister-in-law and I went out there and worked for about 45 minutes while my parents were taking care of somewhere else. It turned out we were doing things the hard way and clearing a lot more in depth than my dad needed. He helped us simplify the process and within about an hour, we had things mostly done. I could tell it was difficult for him to supervise rather than do it himself, but he did well with it. Again, if I had my camera I would post pictures of our handiwork here, but since I don't, you'll just have to use your imagination.

I had forgotten how satisfying it is to get out and work in the dirt like that. And when I say work, I mean to do actual physical labor, to get your hands dirty. It felt so satisfying. As I write this, I can look out the window into the backyard and see our handiwork, and it makes me smile! I may be slightly sore tomorrow since I don't do this kind of thing on a regular basis, but it's so worth it to me for how satisfied I feel.

It's likely that tonight I'm going to be helping my mom finish making freezer jam, which will also be great! I don't know how to do it, but there's no time like the present to learn! And I will reap the benefits once it's finished, which is just an added bonus!