community

there are times when it feels that we barely make it through the routine of the day. there is always more labor required than is possible. not that we have it bad. but dishes, cooking, laundry, dusting (not that i do that), structural repairs, work, childcare, shopping -- you get the idea -- take a lot of time. this is not lost on anyone. we live in a capitalist society that is highly structured. both reproductive and productive labor are constant. but there is something else that happens in society. there is community. not that community does away with the system. but it also transforms it. we have two family-friends. both have 2 kids. both have serious constraints this week on their abilities to manage. we did our best to help today by providing some child pick up and food, a few phone calls. more importantly, we felt their anxieties and tried to soothe them, tried to encourage share empathy. tried to help get over the bumps and potholes that are part of the terrain. we did ok. our lives (and home) remain messy. but the kind of labor where you help your friends, talk to your neighbors, try beyond your capacity, that stretches and changes you a little.