Building up my stamina
to work at the greenhouse for a minimum of six hours a day is going to take
some time. It has been two years since I’ve worked there. It’s been two years
since I’ve stood on my feet for six hours straight. It is hard because my legs
are old. The funny part is it’s not my legs that hurt, it’s my back. This
greenhouse work gives a fuller understanding and meaning to back breaking work
Here is how my work day
goes: I arrive at the greenhouse at 8:45. I greet the other workers as I
quickly make my way up the steps to the office, and sign in. I spryly head back
downstairs to go to whatever house the new shipments of plants are located. I
remove my jacket and Browns sweatshirt. I wear this sweatshirt to annoy my
boss, who is an ardent Steelers fan. It gives us something to spar with each
other. Then I pull my brown LMS apron on, the one with the three pockets so I
can stuff my extra plastic gloves, box cutter (this is to open the bags of
soil, Kleenex, a pencil and small piece of paper to write down some of my job
instructions.
So far, I have lucked
out because usually I have to fill the 4” green or terra cotta pots with soil.
Then 15 of those pots go into a tray. So far, I have been planting the little baby
plugs. I have planted a few varieties like three different splash plants,
begonias, Angelina, petunias and a few others.
The baby plugs come in
small trays and have to be removed so as not to break off the plant from the
root. No matter how carefully I do this job, I still manage to break off a
plant from the root or snap off a few leaves. After about two hours of working
on the potting bench, my back starts to hurt. Usually I stack the trays up so I
don’t have to bend down. I try to stretch or do some bends, or walk out to the
water cooler to refill my water bottle.
At about 12:30, I start
watching the clock and hoping that I can make it until 3:00. The hours creep
along and my back aches more and fatigue sets in. When my six hours of work are
up, I clean up mu work area. Slowly, I walk up the steps, sign out, collect my
things, and head home. I pull my car up into my garage, and think about sitting
there forever. I need to go inside. After a hot shower, two Aleve tablets,
and a cup of coffee, I feel remarkably better. And to think that my boss wanted
me to work and eight hour day!
After two days of work,
I hope I can build up my stamina. The only thing that keeps me returning to the
greenhouse is the warmth and serenity of the greenhouse and watching those baby
plugs grow into a beautiful healthy plant.
In the meantime, I’ll
just take this one work day at a time.
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