"Alright, boys! Start Raking!" My mom hollered out. My dad, My brother and I started on the leave covered driveway. I was a bit miffed because my mom was yelling at me before, but I knew I deserved it. I put my left hand on the lower part of the rake and my right just above it. I chomped down on the wet slimly leaves below. I pulled towards me, but the prongs didn't hook onto the bundled mass. I tried to hook it by scraping from below it, which worked. My dad put in his headphones and started working with Billy Joel and David Bowie as his background singers. The repetitive twisting motion I put my hips through was irritating, but I tried to put my mind forward and forget about the pain. Since my Mom was mad at me, I wanted to work really hard to make things neutral. I pushed myself and forgot about anything in the real world.

I was on autopilot. I translated to my mind. I thought about all my wishes and desires, but then, I noticed how lucky I am. I am surrounded by family, which I all love, and we are bonding. Sure, its manual labor, but it is still bonding, and everyone should be pushed sometimes. I saw my brother's dedicated eyes focused on one pile, and my dad helping out my mom with some specialty raking. I knew we were going to be one closer family after this whole ordeal. The raking was long and grueling, over 2 hours, not to mention the three hours before that day, but in the end, I think it was worth it. As we walked into the garage, we walked in as one. My mom turned on the radio inside, and started cooking; my brother went to his room, my sister slept on the couch, my dad also slept, and I went into my room.

This whole experience showed me the value of hard work, and more importantly the value of family, and how important it is to have a group of people helping you out physically and emotionally. We helped out together and gained good experiences.

Make sure to be with the people you love.