"Everyone pick three," I instructed. My attention was on the dirty kitchen floor, and jumbled drawers. The effect on the participants was absent from my list of objectives. The twins stripped beds, hosed down the steps from chicken poop, and cleaned a bathroom. Ben and Zack hauled trash and mowed the lawn. I tackled the art drawers in the entry way, which were a shambles of glue sticks, paint brushes, and ink pads. One paper bag of surplus was destined for the art teacher at the school, another was for the thrift store, and a third landed in the trash. The supplies that made the cut enjoyed both the elbow room and the prestige. John had elected to scrub the kitchen floor. Although my list simply asked for washing with the new Swiffer, he decided the grout looked too brown for his taste and spent the next ninety minutes on his fifty eight year old knees with a stiff brush. 

Although we tackled different jobs, we labored side by side and it felt like we were a team. He encouraged me and I cheered for him. 

As a celebration I took the three kids to a Harvest Festival and on the way passed a husband and wife lugging rocks to build a wall. It looked like a sweaty task. At the festival I saw another couple standing together at a concession stand, and while it did not emanate as a romantic endeavor, they were a duo. After a hayride and freshly pressed cider we headed home, passing the rock wall and its creators. We waved and applauded their progress. 

I needed something at the Society building and stopped there for a minute. There were a dozen people finishing up from a work day which in my nearsightedness I had forgotten about. I chatted with one of the people who had borne the heat of the day and asked how it went. 

"It felt like community to do projects together. I like work parties. You get to know people in a different way than talking about the last football game."

I mulled it over as I drove home. Yes, it's true. While my eyes are focused on the scummy tiles and cluttered drawers, there is a bigger project afoot. My relationship gets shinier.