The boy couldn’t have been older than 10.
I was underneath a mulberry tree picking the fruits for muffins when a young boy approached me.
“Are those blackberries?”
“They’re like blackberries. They’re called Mulberries!”
Yes yes, I know that mulberries aren’t actually berries, they’re considered multi-fruit.
From Wikipedia: “Multiple fruits, also called collective fruits or multi-fruits are fruiting bodies formed from a cluster of flowers, the inflorescence.
Each flower in the inflorescence produces a fruit, but these mature into a single mass.”
The boy came back about 20 minutes later.
“You’re still here?!… Can I try some?”
“It’s not up to me! It’s up to your parents.”
I was done harvesting (the tree was LOADED with fruit) so I got back in the car not too far away.
I watched as his family went by the tree and the dad tried some and commented, “That’s really delicious!”
And then my soul was filled. That experienced carried me the entire day before I had to go back to the apartment across the street.
I spend a lot of time in the apartment working remotely, staring at a screen, wishing I could be outside experiencing the tastes and smells of the wonders that grow around me in Macomb county, Michigan.
I also like to think of new ways to reduce the amount of tech usage in my life, especially tech with screens. I’ve thought about putting my phone on the kitchen counter on a high enough volume so that I can hear when someone is calling.
It would be out of my hands and if I need it, I know where it is.
I feel like I’m missing out when I read accounts from r/digitalminimalism, people who have taken the plunge and stopped using a smart phone all the time, stopped watching TV.
They find themselves reading a lot more.
And I’ve got enough books that I really want to get through in spite of my ADHD, like Braiding Sweetgrass and some Anarchist book that I’ve misplaced.
I was talking with the elders in my wife’s family and mentioning how the older I get, the less tech I want in my life.
They all smiled and nodded, completely understanding.
We were all working on a large jigsaw puzzle. Zero tech involved. And I loved the feeling of just being present with them.
I worry a lot about the future, but moments like these, teaching kids about the world around us, spending time away from tech and with family, it brings me back to a baseline.
Just thought I’d share that.
Trevor.
P.S. The muffins turned out great. All I did was take a blueberry muffin recipe and swap the blueberries for mulberries.
If you’re more adept at baking, a mulberry swirl cheesecake would slap, I’m sure.
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