The start of summer has arrived! This past week brought the scent of sunscreen and strawberries. We went to pick on Monday and ate most of the berries. When my three year old asked the next day if we could go again (more for the playtime on the combine tractor than for the fruit itself), it was an easy yes after checking that the strawberry patch was open. It was perfect sunny weather and didn’t take us long either day to find enough berries to fill our bucket.
Baby T has been trying a variety of solid foods this past month but has previously not been excited about strawberries or even fruit in general. When he realized he could reach for his own strawberry from the flat, he did not want to stop tasting them! The same strawberries in his high chair at home for dinner could not compare or keep his attention in the same way.
This is a tradition I always look forward to and marks the end of the school year. I grew up going with my Mamma but here in Virginia, we have several more strawberry farms to choose from and they open a few weeks earlier. One of my favorite memories from last year’s strawberry picking with E was sitting in the trunk of the car eating strawberry after strawberry until we were full. I knew that I wanted to recreate that this year with both boys. Instead of sitting in the car, we plopped ourselves on the grass right across from the shed after weighing our haul. E happily played on the tractor and ran back and forth to get more berries. Baby T reached out his chubby hand to slightly squish and grasp each strawberry. He would take a bite or enjoy some of the juice before quickly reaching out to choose another one.
That sweet pause in our day, sitting in the grass and being outside, the scent of sunscreen that lingered the rest of the day on my boys’ hair — it was the best part of our week!
