The is just creeping over the horizon, and the light peers into Matthew's room. He does not want to begin his day at 4:30 in the morning, but he as no choice. He grabs an old pair of overalls and his cracked boots that have sun dried mud on them from yesterdays work in the rain. Matthew has a quick piece of whole wheat toast and a cup of fresh squeezed orange juice. The sun now is fully over horizon, and has painted the sky with blazing aurora of orange. "Another beautiful day", Matthew whispers to himself. However he cannot appreciate Mother's beauty until morning work is completed.
Crops need harvesting, ground needs plowing, and seeds need to be laid into the ground. It is like any other harvest. The ground is still soft from last nights rain, and Matthew's gloves do not smell like dirt and dust today. A refreshing thought. What wasn't refreshing was remembering how the harvester was out of gas, which meant ten times the amount of labor required on today's field. Normally, Matthew would go into town to buy gasoline refills, but he was saving his cash for something special. It was his twenty year anniversary, so doing all of the work by hand was well worth it. It must have taken him hours to harvest all of his crops. This particular season, Matthew decided to sell sunflower seeds to the general store in the town. Many other farmers sold their crops to the General Store, but Matthew wanted to maximize profit, so he tried to be unique in the crops he sold. Last year it was sweet potatoes, and the year before that was a combination of grapes and pumpkins. Matthew knew someday, his farm would be prestigious, and one day he would no longer need to wake up in the early dawn to perform these laborious tasks. "Someday", he mumbled to himself, and he continued on working.
After finishing the harvest, he came back inside the cottage. It was about 1:30, and it was time for a big meal before finishing up the day's work. While Matthew enjoyed the rest, he knew there was still much to be done. The trees had all blossomed, and the animals needed to be tended to. Plus, he had promised his neighbor Joe he would help him get rid of some weeds on his farm. First thing was first, Matthew needed to plow and seed his farm. Plowing his farm by hand was by far the most laborious task of the day. How Matthew longed to purchase his own John Deere tractor, so he could finally put his hoe in the fire and forget he ever had to use it. But that had not yet come, so the hoe it was. Matthew's hands were rough, like any farmer, and had huge calices that covered his palms. Plowing today was slightly easier, the rain made the ground soft and easy to turn the dirt. However, his ten acre farm would take hours. As the sun danced across the sky from one resting place to another, Matthew was seen working from one end of the field to the other. After each square was plowed, he gently rested his sunflower seeds into the ground, like a father wishing his child goodnight at day's end. Finally, as the day morphed into dusk, Matthew had finished his days work. All tasks were accounted for, and Matthew still held on to a sense of pride he once started with three years ago.
As Matthew rested his weary bones back into bed, he couldn't help but smile. He knew that his hard work would eventually pay off, and this life that he possessed would not be permanent. As his wife slid into bed next to him, just as tired and weary as he was, she did not know how her life was about to change. For Matthew was not honest about when he said he sold his crops to the general store. Instead, he sold them to major corporate companies in the big city. And after one more harvest, his wife and him would leave the black cottage for the luxury of a villa. "Thank you God for keeping me safe the day", Matthew whispered. As he smiled, his mind began to dream of what life will be like soon.
