My First Job

If you haven't read my first story, you may want to read it first. https://steemit.com/story/@wes773/how-i-almost-became-a-young-pirate enjoy.

Not many people know it, but back when I was a kid in Brazil, I would make money going from farm to farm milking almonds. You know how you go in the store and there's almond milk you can drink to feel all healthy about yourself? Well, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to get to that point.

My grandfather had his own farm with his own almonds and he was the one who taught me. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was thirteen years old and I remember my parents driving me over to his farm. It was a long ride out to his farm and I was going to be spending yet another Summer with my grandparents.

"Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me," the radio started playing as we rode down the long dirt road leading to my grandparents' house. My dad reached over and turned the volume knob up on the radio. The car crept along the dirt path as I looked at my grandparent's farm. They had all kinds of farm animals and plants. I zoned out thinking about the delicious orange tree that I found the last year in the forest. It felt so good to be back. Pepe, my dog, looked excited to be back too.

The car came to a stop not far from my grandparent's house and I grabbed my bags before I exited the car. Pepe wagged his little tail and ran around the yard at blazing speeds upon seeing where he was at. My grandparents made their way out of their house and I hugged them both before telling my parents bye. My parents had to hurry to the airport to catch a flight, so they had to leave immediately.

"Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play
Hey now, you're a rock star, get the show on, get paid
And all that glitters is gold
Only shooting stars break the mold," is all I heard as my parents made their way down the driveway. I walked into my grandparents' home and I laid down the bags I brought with me. I thought to myself, 'it's time to go visit the orange tree with the delicious oranges.' I had the whole Summer ahead of me and I didn't a single second.

"Not so fast!" my grandfather shouted as I attempted to bolt out the door and into the forest. "You're thirteen years old... you're a man now... this year I want you to help out on the farm."

"Um, okay," I replied as I felt utter disappointment. I planned on bringing in some delicious oranges and exploring the forest with Pepe. I would have to find the time to go do those things after my work was done.

"Today, you're going to help me milk almonds," my grandfather said.

"Why do we have to milk almonds? I thought people just ate almonds," I questioned.

"Some people can't drink cow milk, but they still need something to pour in their cereal. We milk the almonds and sell the milk to keep things running around here." my grandfather explained. I looked on in amazement as we entered the barn. He continued,"Ten thousand almonds... that's how many almonds we milk each day."

I looked on as my grandfather explained the milking process. Apparently, you take an almond and you find its udders. Then you gently squeeze as you pull downwards. It's very simple, but it takes some practice to get right. Once you get the hang of it, you can get an entire eight ounce glass of fresh almond milk from just one almond. Then you release the almond back into the pasture to graze again.

I must have milked two thousand, five hundred of those little almonds that day. My grandfather was a beast. He milked them four at a time and he milked the remaining almonds. By the end of the day, my thumbs and index fingers were really sore. At the end of the day, a big truck came and took away all of the milk.

I thought about going into the forest to visit the delicious orange tree, but I was much to tired to attempt that walk that day. I walked into the house and sat down at the dinner table that my grandmother prepared. Tonight was enchilada night, one of my favorites. We ate and talked about all of the hard work we did that day.

"You earned this today," my grandfather said as he handed me a crisp fifty dollar bill. Maybe all of this work isn't such a bad thing afterall. I could easily save up for a really nice bicycle or something.

After dinner, I went to the room I was staying in and sat down on the bed. Moments later, something amazing happened. Pepe came into the room. I didn't realize what he was carrying at first, but to my delight, it was a great big juicy delicious orange!!!!
"Oh Pepe, you knew exactly what I needed!" I shouted. Pepe wagged his tail and jumped into bed with me. I spent my last waking moments of that night eating the most amazing orange while Pepe snuggled up to me in bed.

"Goodnight, Pepe," I said.