Day 84 - A Holiday Weekend
When one lacks a regular, full-time job, holidays are pointless. From what are you taking a holiday? I’m not talking about Holy Days - that’s a different topic altogether. I’m talking about a day set aside by our government to allow us a day off work to contemplate, and honor, a given subject, person(s), or event. To those of us who are without regular work, holidays lose their meaning.
On the other hand, we don’t need holidays to remember the things for which others need a reminder. Thanksgiving? I am thankful for every meal I enjoy, and for the generosity of others without which I would literally be starving. The New Year? I think of all the new beginnings I have every month, every week, every day, in the hopes that this new contact, or meeting, or conversation, or mixer might lead to the next chapter of my happiness.
I celebrate Presidents Day (the mis-guided - IMO - attempt at combining Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays into one, and thus circumventing the need to include any others on the calendar) almost daily. I am regularly reminded how our early leaders were far more altruistic and socially grounded than anyone currently in political office, or we wouldn’t have a country at all. (Can you imagine how quickly the fledgling United States would have crumbled had it been led by any of our modern politicians? I shudder to think of it.)
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day - not only would I not be alive today without them, but I would have died long ago if I hadn’t had their support. To this day, I would be nothing without their generosity and love. Independence Day? Stripping away all the hype and false patriotism vomited by our current politicians, I remember every day how our freedom to choose our own paths is in our control; the circumstances in which we find ourselves may not be of our choosing, but how we respond to them is. Just as our founding fathers and the citizens who heeded the call to give life and breath to freedom did so of their own will, so too we can give our all for the benefit of our society.
Labor Day.... I celebrate, honor, and revere those who made the Worker our national hero. I am grateful for the countless employees who, through their hard work, dedication, and devotion to the improvement of our society, have earned our respect and gratitude. Without them, this country could not have thrived as it has.
All I ask now is to be one of them again - the employed. Though Monday is officially Labor Day, I will take this opportunity to make this whole weekend a celebration of employment. I don’t need a holiday to do it, but here it is. I try not to pass up too many opportunities these days.
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