type-a-plus-plus.

Okay, I get it now. Crop Mob is where a bunch of people get together and work on a farm. That's really all. It's like a book club or YMCA volleyball team. People with a similar interest in some activity get together and do that activity. That activity happens to be similar to slave labor. What a carefree life we all lead!

We mobbed again this past week and I enjoyed it much more. For one thing, we only stayed two hours instead of four, because Josh had to go to work. For another thing, we were mostly wrapping heavy-duty masking tape around rebar in a greenhouse, which is much less back-breaking than tilling soil without the use of petroleum-powered machinery.

But mostly? It was so much better this time because there was structure. There was a clear foreman, and he told us what we needed to do. He gave us instructions and supplies and put us to work. He answered questions patiently and explained why we were doings things a specific way. He periodically came by again to give further instruction or encouragement. Occasionally our little group would have to make independent decisions about how best to accomplish something, and then we talked it out, made a plan, and then worked on that plan. I mean, it was all much more casual than I'm making it sound - nobody formed any committees or used parliamentary procedure. But there it was: we had a leader, and he led.

I don't think of myself as particularly type-A. Clearly, I am, and I know that, but I have met so many type-A-plus-plus people that I seem very easy-going in comparison. But I was sort of surprised at how much happier I was when there was some organization to the crop mob. The first time, everyone just grabbed a tool and picked something to do based on what other people were doing. We were all watching each other out of the corners of our eyes to see what we should be doing. Some garden beds got twice as much manure as the others, and all the beds received a bunch of extra tilling. Had there been someone there to keep an eye on the overall progress, we could have gotten more done. Most people probably did not care or mind that lack of direction; they were just enjoying the moment. But I felt like I was flying blind. Some of us like to feel like we're accomplishing something. Then we can enjoy the moment.