Just Another Day at the Office

As dawn breaks over another beautiful weekday, our seasoned explorer barely notices as he begins his new daily routine. 

Load, pack, haul. 

Normally out in the wilderness fighting for survival with his trusty sidekick, today's challenge is a bit more commonplace then the veteran is used to.  Load, pack, and haul; not the most glamorous mission, but a necessary one.

But, behind even the most glamorous of missions, there is some level of preparation and planning.  Today though, it feels like all preparation, too much planning, and adventure feels like just a word in the dictionary.

Only a few know that it's the behind the scenes work that really counts.  This is the work that makes everyone's experience that much more rewarding in the end.

The veteran nods his head in agreement to no one in particular and wonders if he is the only one who realizes this about his role.  Does anyone ever stop to think about how their enjoyment has come to pass, or do they simply enjoy themselves without care, as if the very nature of their happiness simply dropped from the sky for their personal entertainment?

A thankless job, but also one he signed on for, so no use complaining about it.  Better to just get to work and get it over with.

The day begins with loading.  Thankfully, in this area, he can count on the assistance of a certain rookie whose services he has come to depend on.  While today they will not be  or , the degree of difficulty is no less. 

The heat is challenging today.  Loading up the transportation vehicle is not the hardest of jobs, but factor in the heat and unrelenting presence of the yellow sun, and any team would be hard pressed under these conditions.

After loading comes packing.  As much as the veteran would like the assistance of his upstart partner in this area, this job takes years to master.  Heavy stuff packed first so nothing is crushed, fragile things packed on top for the same reason, and liquids packed last so they can be watched closely for spillage.

A fine art that may not be directly on par with classical music on a baby grand piano, but surely not that far off either.

Hauling is the final task of the day, and by far the hardest.  While all preparation is done in anticipation of the haul, nothing can change the difficulty of the actual haul itself.  Go too slow and you risk overexposure to the sun, go too fast and you loose your convoy.

As a final "reward," the last leg of the haul is the hardest.  The sandy terrain is hot, uncompromising, and seemingly never ending.  Thankfully, when the destination is reached, all of the day's hard work is worth it upon seeing a little, smiling face.

"You look tired Daddy."

"I'm okay buddy.  Let's go in the ocean and cool off."

'Brad the Dad' is a parent columnist and can be reached at bradmarmo@gmail.com.  Follow him on Facebook or Twitter: @readbradthedad