Happy " No- Labor" Day...

September 2007

Happy “No Labor” Day!

Christmas, Halloween, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving.

Mention the name of a holiday and usually you’ll elicit a smile and a warm, fuzzy feeling as happy memories surface. (Unless you’re talking to a woman who is in mid-preparation for any of the above and then the likely response is a growl and a baring of teeth. But that’s another column.)

Even a holiday as unfettered with gifts and hoopla as Memorial Day signals the beginning of happy times to come in the form of summer.

Then we have September’s claim to fame on the holiday circuit: Labor Day.

Meant to celebrate the American worker, Labor Day even sounds “unfun,” given any definition of the word “ labor.” Holidays are meant to center around relaxation, with nary a thought straying into the unpleasant arena of work. But Labor Day not only brings work to the forefront, it also signals the unofficial end of summer, a dismal marking if there ever was one.

Once Labor Day has descended upon us, our thoughts naturally turn towards “real” time, in the form of a return to school, lessons, practices, schedules, and a renewed seriousness about work, now that everyone’s annual vacation is history.

As far as holidays go, Labor Day basically stinks.

However, the older I get, the more I realize that life is all about attitude.

I’m not willing to concede that I can simply “manifest” the life of my dreams, as proposed by some current new age philosophies. But I do realize that I’m not doing myself any favors by continuing to whine about a day which comes every September and immediately puts me in a lousy mood for about nine months.

So, instead of concentrating on the negatives of summer’s passing, I’ve decided to take a conscious turn in another direction, in the hope of giving Labor Day a new rep and giving myself a new attitude.

The end of summer signals a return to full blown meals—no more grilled burgers, salads or lighter fare.

Usually, this trend finds me begrudgingly scouring cookbooks and trolling grocery store aisles in an attempt to muster some enthusiasm for cooking healthy, filling meals for my family. Now, though, I think I’ll endorse the multi-course, nutritious meal by making it my duty to patronize at least one new restaurant each week, and on a weeknight at that.

The shorter, cooler days ushered in after Labor Day demand wardrobe inspections to insure that everyone has the necessities required to not only keep warm, but to move about in polite society properly clothed. Translation: time to stash the shorts, tank tops and flip-flops away until next May, a task I generally loathe. From now on, however, instead of dreading the annual hunt for the sweaters, jeans, coats, etc. which I tossed into some closet or drawer back when the temperature rose above fifty-five, I’ll simply support the local retail economy and go buy a bunch of new stuff for the kids, my husband, and most important, me.

The re-introduction of to-theminute schedules after a summer of “Wow, is it really 9:00 P.M. already?” usually throws me into a tail-spin which leaves me tired and snarling. But in the interest of establishing balance, finding my personal yin and yang, and not becoming a candidate for a mental institution, I’ve decided to require myself to spend at least a few hours every week not looking at the clock and doing something, dare I say it, fun.

So bring it on, Labor Day. From now on, the end of summer just means I’ve got nine months of new stuff to try before May. And I can’t wait to get started.