No-Labor Labor Day

I'm just going to politely ignore the shameful and lengthy time that's passed between now and my previous post, and hope that you fine folks will humor me and do the same.

So.

Labor Day Weekend has come and gone, which basically translates to "What--wait, it's September now?" for me. Seriously though, time has been flying.

Like, I've been so busy that it simply didn't occur to me that this past weekend was a holiday thing (aside from inherently knowing in my soul that it would be a poor weekend for shopping) until yesterday morning, when I thought--Do I work today? I hadn't even thought about the fact that I might be off, that the shop where I work would probably be closed. (So busy that I hadn't thought to check on this the last time I'd been in to work).

So when my parents asked me if I wanted to join them and a few choice family friends over at my Uncle's house, I regretfully said no, that I'd be at work, grumble grumble. That's when the lightbulb turned on.

A few phone calls later and ta-da!

Surprise day off work!

Oh, the irony. Labor Day and I did absolutely nothing. Okay, a few things, but fun things. Certainly not laborious things.

We had hot dogs and beer at my Uncle's, sat around the baby grand while he played old gospel songs I remember from years and years ago, and caught grasshoppers with the young'uns (then politely turned my back when they started picking their legs off...because I know boys will be boys but also, yuck).

Our Labor Day party was kind of a hybrid thing, too. It was also a celebration of another of our dear friend's book release looming in the very near future. (Stay tuned, I'll be posting a review on that book here, as a friendly favor to spread the word—hey, maintaining your own blog has its advantages. Shameless promotion).

Anyway, all in all, and long story short, as great as Labor is, and as much as I love my job and appreciate that I have one, and enjoy the income that it generates, sometimes a surprise day off from work is just the ticket.

I had been focused on work, stressing about getting there on time, and having an unexpected day off made me slow down. Just stop and enjoy those awesome little things again, like time spent with family and friends, good food, great times. It was refreshing, and exactly the break I needed to refocus and get back to the work part of reality with renewed energy and ambition.

So tell me, how did you guys celebrate Labor Day weekend? Or Labor Day? Or both? Whatever you did, I hope you got to spend some time recharging your proverbial batteries! :)