Painting a
house with others is a unique experience.
Richie and I
went to the Cities to help Sam and Gretchen paint the outside of their 2-story
home this past weekend. God could not have created a more perfect 3 days of sun
and clouds and 70 degrees, no wind. Excellent painting weather.
We were all
on different sides much of the time, sometimes two of us for
a time on one side. (Richie’s fearlessness on the 16-foot extension ladder
painting the high peaks saved the whole project…..the rest of us were not “height”
people)
What I enjoyed was the solitary nature of the work in what was definitely a group project.
There was a gentle peace about the painting. It was you and your thoughts for
most of the time. There wasn’t a lot of talking when we shared a side….there
didn’t need to be. You have your own paint and brush and designated area and we
were all concentrating on getting this job done.
Yet, the camaraderie was tight. If someone
yelled “help with the ladder,” someone else immediately got down from his
ladder to help. If someone yelled, “help pouring paint,” an aide appeared immediately.
Occasionally, the silence was broken
with things like:
“Can you do
this tighter space with your smaller hands?”
“Who needs
water? I’ll go in for everyone.”
“Can someone
turn the Twins Game up on the radio?”
They were
wonderful easy-going help-each-other-out kind of days. We were able to finish all
but part of the south side and the back side under the deck (the worst job for
whoever gets it)!
I had not
painted a house since we painted our cabin when Sam was a tyke of about 5 or 6.
I had forgotten that it is a true test of muscle strength (which I do not
have). Every muscle in my body ached including my feet from ladder standing,
but I did what I thought I would never do again. I stood on the third rung of a ladder with no hanging on and balanced my body. That was a victory
for my body, whose muscles are ruined by steroids.
We were
honored that the kids thought we were both up to the task of two-story painting.
Maybe their confidence in us is what made it all so very worthwhile and
satisfying.
It was good practice for this summer's job of cabin painting. I was hoping we could put that off for another 20 years or so.
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