Labor Day is the Eeyore of holidays. No one’s going to complain when they see the vacation day coming any more than you could really dislike that cuddly character from Winne the Pooh, but there’s something undeniably sad when it arrives.
If Labor Day were a person, it would be the lifeguard with the whistle yelling at everyone…
“Get out of the pool! Summer fun is over! Pack up the sunscreen, put away the grill, forget about pretty toes. Time to go home!!”
How could it possibly be fall again? How did we notch another summer on our belt? What can I do to pay more attention and be more present in the months ahead?
This weekend I was comparing notes with my sister-in-law, Leesa, about our respective fall calendars. She mentioned an upcoming activity for her girls, and I asked her for a specific date.
“Oh, I’m not sure,” she said, “it’s happening October soon.”
I love that shorthand. The statement is not merely descriptive of the speed of life, but just grammatically disjointed enough to stop me in my tracks.
(For those of you who enjoy grammar, technically “soon” is an adverb that should modify a verb, as in “we are leaving soon.” In this case, however, “soon” acts like an adjective. But I digress…)
What if we described other events in a similar way?
Looking back, it’s been “Summer quick” and moving forward it’s gonna be “Thanksgiving speedy” or “Christmas rushed.” I wonder if I had to assign a pace to the events of the calendar, would I be more conscious about soaking in the moments of that season?
Instead of seeing Labor Day as Eeyore, I’m going to try to re-frame the holiday as a reminder to breathe deeply and be present in the moments I have in front of me.
To be thankful for shorter days and more opportunities to light candles.
To appreciate apples and winter food that makes life a little more savory.
To bring out the blankets, snuggle up with the family, and enjoy whatever football game is on at the moment.
Today is a great reminder that seasons fly by, so pay attention before “Life swiftly” disappears.
September 3, 2012 at 7:45 am
Joy,
I remember back in high school and college we always had lots of breaks that helped to mark time and focus on not letting time slip by. Once I started working with limited vacation time and holidays time seemed to move at a much faster pace. A year or two would pass and I would wonder what happened. I am thankful for holidays for they do help me to mark time and they do help me to ask myself am I using my time as I want; is my focus right and am I scheduling things that need to be done before I once again wonder where the time went.
Perhaps New Years is the Tigger of holidays. It just burst on the scene with the hope of great things coming?
Joy Cannis gave me directions over here by the way.
Mark
September 3, 2012 at 10:09 pm
New Years as Tigger? YES!! In fact, let’s build an entire calendar around A.A. Milne characters. Rabbit would be a shoe in for Easter, maybe Owl for Memorial Day (he’s majestic), and Piglet for Valentine’s Day (he’s so sweet!).
Hmmm. I’ll be thinking about this.
Thanks for stopping by Mark.
September 4, 2012 at 3:12 pm
I would suggest Winnie the Pooh for Thanksgiving due to the fact that he loves eating and who better to promote Thanksgiving dinner that the Pooh Bear. Kanga and Roo for Christmas since Roo is the only child of the bunch and they both have built in hiding places for gifts. The character that Disney added Gopher; would have as his holiday the Fouth of July since he is a demolition expert. Of course the scary character we never see Huffalump’s holiday is no doubt Halloween. Christopher Robin would be the head of Columbus Day like the Christopher before him he takes us to an undiscovered land(100 acre woods).
What do you suggest?
September 5, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Excellent choice for Christmas!! Now about Flag Day…
September 5, 2012 at 7:59 pm
I would say perhaps we would have to give owl a second day since he could just fly the flag up to the top of the pole. Or perhaps we need to consider those Winnie the Pooh characters that have yet to be presented to the world…. the ones living on the edge of the 100 acre wood near the Big Stone and Rox area. I am sure a squirrel(named Squirreley) would be one of those and Flag Day could be his as he could run up the pole and sit on top!
May you can introduce those yet to be revealed pooh characters to the world.