The heat from the air was exhausting as I lugged another stack of the heavy straw from the truck into the supply shed behind our house.  The day was becoming night while in the distance I could see the parts of a storm start to come together. The wind was getting much stronger and made the trees blow harder, the grass started to sway, as if it were dancing to the  whistling of the wind in the air.  The amount of sweat that was dripping down my face abnormal for me and made it almost impossible for me to see as I felt the salt from the sweat begin to get in my eyes.  But I was determined to move everything inside before the whole storm decided to hit.  With that, I wiped the sweat out of my eyes and carried on.

 I was finally old enough to do actual hard labor jobs around the farm and this was my very first job since I turned 15 and I did NOT want to screw it up.  For me, it almost seemed as if there was no end to the amount of hay stacks that I had to move but I was very determined and progressed onward because if the storm arrived at our farm before I was finished, the rain from the storm would dampen the stacks of hay making the hay almost twice as heavy as before.  I felt my arms start to give in from the weight and my back started to arch in after the fourth load of hay because couldn't lift with my knees.  I could feel my body running very low on fuel and was picking up the stacks of hay using up the rest of the power and will that my body had left.  For a second I started to doubt myself, thinking that I wouldn’t be able to finish the job that I have been waiting for since I was a kid.  I had to stop for a second, so I bent my knees and dropped the stack of hay on the ground barely missing my feet.  I slouched over, putting my hands on my knees and using my shoulders to wipe off the sweat that was on my face.  I started to feel very dehydrated. I began to uncontrollably sway back and forth like a new born deer.  I tried to keep my balance as best I could but my legs were becoming weaker until the weight of my body shifted over to one side too far and I stumbled onto the stack of hay. But that’s when I spotted the last stack of hay that had to be carried back to the shed and at that moment there was a enormous  amount of relief that hit me. I lifted the last stack up and drug it back to the shed.  I felt as if my arms were giving in more and more every time I lifted up another stack of the heavy hay. I set the last stack of hay down as I heard the voice of my mother calling me in from the porch on the side of the house.  Before I walked towards the porch where my mom was waiting, I had to straighten out my back. As I exhaustedly started approaching the door to the porch, it started to pour and the rain was godsend to my achey hot body.  I walked on to the porch to see my mom sitting on the rocking chair next to the door smiling at me bright as ever.  I passed right by my mom in the rocking chair trough the porch, and before I walked through the door to the house my mom looked up and called out my name. 

“Josh dear, sit down honey,” She said to me as her southern accent softly worked its way into her words. I stumbled over to the couch which was the nearest and most comforting ace on the porch. 

"You did quite well Josh," said my mother

"Thanks ma," I said in an exhausted tone. I could hear my fathers car pulling up the gravel road churning the small rocks as I talked to my mother. When he came over he looked at me and then over to the shed silently. 

"You did that all alone?" He seemed to announce 

"Yes sir" I said

"Well I'll be damned! I didn't think you could do it all alone, I'm very proud!" He said through his perfect smiling face. I decided it was time for a cold shower and a well deserved nap. So I struggled up the stairs and into the bathroom to get cleaned up. After what seemed like an hour under the cold water I turned the knob as it squeezed to a shut. I grabbed a towel, walked to my room and fell on my bed. Not caring about pajamas. I just wanted to sleep.