All I Learned from my Mom Came from the Blackberry Patch

I have been out picking blackberries.  You may ask, why?  It is hot, prickly, you get bug bites, and the bushes are in areas that look snake-y.  I used to pick blackberries with my mom.  It was an ordeal getting ready to go--boots, long sleeved shirts, hats, bug spray were all part of the preparation.  We love blackberry pie and blackberry jam.  Mom and I would go and talk some while picking, but sometimes just enjoyed being together. 

But I also learned a lot from the patch.  Sometimes the best berries are at the front of the patch and don't take a lot of effort to pick.  Other times, the best berries are deeper in the patch and you have to knock down some of the bushes to get back to the big berries.  Sometimes we would pass up pretty nice berries at the front hoping to find bigger ones deeper in.  Sometimes we were rewarded and sometimes the berries at the front were the best berries.

I picked some this morning on my parents' property.   At first, it did not look like there were many to be found.  But as I looked high, low and at different angles, I found plenty of berries hiding beneath leaves.  Although my mom is gone now, I compulsively have to go pick berries and remember good times together.

Can you see any applications to life?