Pulling Staples

I have a new appreciation for my husband and the work he does.  Last night the boys and I assisted Mike in pulling staples out of a floor and it was awful.  The boys had done this work for Mike before and were "pros" at it.  Me, not so much.  After 3 hours my hands, wrists and shoulders were on fire, and even though I only had maybe another 30 minutes of work, I quit.  That's right, I quit!  I threw my tool down and said I was done!  Then I confronted Mike about this whole staple pulling business.  Was this something he did consistently?  He smiled and patiently said that it wasn't something he did consistently, but when he does floors (which he does a lot in my opinion) the staples have to be pulled.  I asked him how long that takes him, on average?  He said depending on the space it can range anywhere from 4 - 6 hours!!  Four to six hours, that insanity, I exclaimed!  He said he puts his ear buds in, plays music and pulls away.  Mike also does things ergonomically correct, so there is very little strain to his body, although he tells me his body feels pain everyday.  There was nothing ergonomically correct in the way I was pulling those staples.  Nick and Mike took every opportunity to tell me I was putting way more strain on my body than I needed to, which after awhile their well intended advice got annoying.  In any case, my point is, Mike works hard, literally, and although I have always known this, I had to experience it to fully appreciate it.  It's kind of like being a parent.  No one can tell you what it's like until you actually do it and experience it.  The reality is I didn't even get to experience the full extent of Mike's work but it was enough for me to know, I never want to pull staples again!