With the exquisite weather we have here in the northeast today, what a gift it is to have an extra day to be able to take a moment to breathe from all the labor involved in cleaning, laundry, ironing, making beds, shopping, and preparing for the upcoming work week. Labor, I must admit, that nonetheless fills me with a great feeling of accomplishment, joy, and gratitude for being alive.
I noticed that the Department of Labor describes Labor Day as “a creation of the labor movement which is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”
My prayer for the laborers, those of us who work for a living to provide that strength, prosperity and well-being of our country, is that we each have the opportunity to do a work that feeds our soul as well as our pockets. In doing so it is easier to remember to be thankful for the gift of life we possess and the opportunity to love all those we have called into our lives.
Growing up in South Boston, the laborers I knew were all sheet-metal workers, policemen, firemen, waitresses, mechanics and the like. Labor was what kept us in our apartments, kept the children in school, and kept food on the table. When our dad had extra it meant an ice cream on Sunday or tuna “spuckies” (grinders) on Friday night with a large bag of potato chips for the family. It was a celebration of the extra income (meaning extra work hours were involved.) and a real treat.
I wish you those basics and many of those “extras,” however you define them, along with the social and economic achievements that were said above to come as part of the gift of labor, a gift we all deserve.
