Today I got to go with my husband to work. My husband is a general contractor and builds custom homes. We usually build from start to finish, and only have subcontractors come in for the things either we aren’t licensed to do like electrical and plumbing, or for things we don’t want to do, like sheetrock and dirt work.

When he asks me to go to work, it’s usually because the job requires many hands to make the work go quickly, or because he will be short handed that particular day. Today it was because many hands make light work.

I actually love the building process. It is fun to watch a pile of materials turn into a beautiful home for someone to live in. It’s also fun to watch a project go from a set of blueprints to an actual structure, to a finished work of art.

But, I have those things that I dislike doing on the job. The first is the dirt work. I don’t dislike the work per se, but I do dislike the dirt that collects in my shoes, and when it’s really a wet summer, I dislike the mud that collects on the bottom of my shoes.

The next would be sheetrock. I don’t like sheet rocking, taping or mudding the joints. This is a very dirty, dusty job, and usually my job is to sand. This causes my sinuses to fill with very find dust, and usually ends in a mild sinus infection, or at least really packed sinuses. I try to avoid the jobsite when that’s what’s happening.

But, today was something I actually really like to do! My husband is currently working on a small indoor job (because these are the best kind in the middle of the winter). He has been tiling a basement. Today we grouted the majority of the main area, and that’s where I was asked to help.

Grouting is so satisfying to me. I love watching the floor go from partially done looking to really nice, finished looking. There were 4 of us there, my husband putting in the grout, 2 of our kids were finishing the grout lines and wiping off a fair amount of the excess. I was coming behind getting the residue off and making it look good.

My knees are sore tonight, my back is a little bit tired. It took about 5 hours to do what we did today. But it was so satisfying to see it finished when we left. There is one more room to tile and a small strip next to the door, that’ll get done in the next 2 days and then grout either Saturday or Monday.