Mortgage Monday: Labor Day Labor

While I don’t have work today the ironic thing about this Labor Day is that there is work being done at the house. It seems as though every minute of free time that my brother in law has had lately has been committed to this HVAC overhaul. For the past month (or more, I can’t recall when he started) he has joined us for the weekend forgoing time with his family and taking a break from his already long work week. There is no questioning that we are incredibly lucky to have him devote so much of his free time to not just getting this project done but getting it done right.

This is the part of Labor Day that tends to be overlooked. Many of the people whom we honor with this day are the same ones who would do anything to help their family. The same people that deserve to take a break tend to be the ones that can never stop working.

Thankfully, we are almost done with this phase of the work. A couple more weekends and everything should be complete and the way that we want it and the way that he wants it. There is already a huge difference in the house both with regard to the regulation of the temperature and the cleanliness of the system (the old one was, to put it nicely, nasty). Just a short time longer and we will all be able to enjoy the new system.

In future years we hope to have him at our house again during this particular holiday but this is, hopefully, the last time that we will ask him to do any work on the house. Actually, we hope to have the family join us in the future to relax not to work on the house and enjoy the work that was put into making our home as comfortable as possible. It shouldn’t take long before we start having family over again to enjoy the house.  

In the meantime, we are continuously cognizant of the sacrifices that our brother in law is making to help us out (and my sister and their kids) and we are doing our best to make him as comfortable as possible while he is here. We try to keep the beer fridge stocked, have good food on the table, and a bed made. We also have an open door so that the kid and my sister can come over and spend some time. But, the most important thing right now is that we try and do everything we can to give him back his weekends as soon as possible.

Resting Before The Labor

This day is one that is interesting to think about as our families were built by men (and women) for whom this day was originally conceived to honor. While some things have changed for a few of us in recent generations affording us the ability to work at a desk throughout the day, there are many, past and present, who make their living in various trades. However, for all of us the day has taken on a lesser role in our lives as the primary means of celebration is that of having the long weekend to enjoy as we please. For us, this is a perfect time to get together with family.

This day is also the unofficial end to the summer which brings hope of cooler weather, convoys of school busses, and the promise of a blazing landscape. The seasons will soon begin to change and talk of the holidays will soon be heard on the radio and seen on the television and in store displays. The day marks a time of annual change beyond the original parameters of the Labor Day holiday as is outlined on the US Department of Labor website:

“The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday.”

While I don’t recall having seen such a format in my life, the means by which we currently celebrate the day seems apropos… we mark the day by not working. However, the irony of it all is that many of the professions and professionals for whom this day was designed to celebrate, find themselves at work. Such is the effect that retail has had on the calendar and the lives of some in this country. A sale is a powerful draw and bringing that business in is what keeps people working. Some might call this a vicious cycle. Of course, I say this knowing that I am not one to turn down a deal and I too have taken advantage of the “Labor Day Sales” that are becoming more and more plentiful as the years pass.  

The seasonal change is certainly upon us and all the sights, smells, and sounds are beginning to permeate the air. It is a time of annual transition which is certainly something that we are anticipating as our plans continue to develop over the next few months. A day off of labor to prepare us for the work that needs to be done for the remainder of the year. That pretty much sums it up for me.

What Do We Consider Labor?

Last year I wrote about the history of this holiday and the story behind thecreation of this holiday that we call Labor Day. I wrote that post in the early hours of the morning while working the front desk of the apartment building. The irony was clear having to work on the holiday. This year I find myself in a completely different situation with the office closed and enjoying the day with my wife. Of course, there are always things that need to be done on the computer, there are always things that I am working on, but this year I had a choice.

This year I am wondering if I am working hard enough. There seems to be times when my focus isn’t what it should be and items aren’t checked off the list as quickly as they should be. I don’t know if I am working any slower or if my expectations keep going up. Honestly, I am not sure which one it is. All I know is that I keep thinking lately about where I should be versus where I actually am right now. This is particularly odd as I feel I am in the right place but not as far along as I should be if that makes any sense. Who knows, maybe I am just impatient and expect more of myself than is possible.

But, I digress, this is a day to celebrate the contributions that people have made to this nation with their own hands and their minds as well. While many may differentiate physical and office labor they are both contributing to the success of this country. The sweat, the stress, the creativity that has changed the society in which we live is what should be honored on this day. This is not a day to celebrate the unions which too many worker have become beholden, this day should honor the strength and work ethics of the individuals.

With that said, we must remember that some don’t have the choice of whether or not to work today. From those who would be considered ‘laborers’ to those sitting behind the desk at the office trying to meet a deadline. While completely different kinds of work and vastly different pay, they are all working to keep the job they have, doing the best they can at that job, and trying to find a way to reach their goals whether it is simply to support their family, ensuring the safety of others, or something more grandiose. Everyone who is striving to make a difference in their lives and/or the lives of other through their labor should be recognized on this Labor Day.

A Long Weekend With Meaning

Today we celebrate Labor Day. Well, really, let’s be honest. No one is celebrating a holiday to honor the blue collar laborers. In fact, most of the people who have to work on this holiday are the ones that this day is supposed to honor.

This is why I just wanted to take a step back and share with you a little bit about the holiday. First, a little overview as to the purpose of Labor Day as written on the Department of Labor’s website:

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and 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… Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886.

From these, a movement developed to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

Slowly the movement took hold and crossed the country until finally it was declared a national holiday. Don’t you love the irony from the very beginning when it took a bunch of guys in suits and sitting behind desks in order to pass a holiday that honors the people that, up until that point, were coerced to place their votes in favor of the party that would be most beneficial to their employer. Remember, the formation of this day was long before the sale of Carnegie Steel in 1901 and the dissolution of Standard Oil in 1911.

The means by which the day is celebrated has changed greatly over the years. While today it usually means one last trip to the beach, shopping for bargains at the mall, and generally just enjoying a long weekend away from work that was not the way the day was meant to be observed. Parades and speeches were the order of the day. And while I believe that to be an appropriate way to celebrate at the time, I think the laborers during the turn of the 20^th century would join right along in the modern incarnation of their holiday.

Specifically, this is how the celebrations were supposed to be scheduled (again from the DOL website):

The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

Essentially we have a dichotomy between the meaning and means of celebration of this holiday in the modern world. Like many celebrations, this is just one of those things that changes over time. As the world changes so do the people and events in it. However, I would like to propose an idea to attempt to tie the two together, past with present.

It is very simple, take some time out of the day to remember members of your family, past and present, for whom this holiday was created. Appreciate the people that you meet during the day for whom this holiday was established. Find something that you can do yourself that you would normally hire someone to do and work with your hands (once you mess it up and make it worse, then you can call someone). It all comes down to appreciation so find some way to not just show your appreciation but mean it as well.