To remember…..

 

Good morning and Happy Labor day!

Labor Day was created by the Labor Movement in the United States in the late 1800’s to recognize the spirit, the contributions and achievements of the American worker – the backbone of our America AND it became a federal holiday in 1894.  I think everyone will agree with me that we all know how to work hard, and then harder, and then improvise when challenged, then overcome adversity and then back to working hard again!  We’ve got this “work” thing down solid!

 

While scrolling through Facebook this morning, I saw a friend’s memory of her vacation this weekend last Summer at the beach.  It reminded me that she so thoughtfully created and sent this message to me as I was restarting Puppy Girl Designs after an extended recovery from a horrific, fatal (other driver, most fortunate not me) car accident.  By then, I was back to work part time and back to stitching for PGD. 

Grateful to be alive, I had all sorts of plans of where I wanted to go, people and places to see, things to do.  And I have been extremely busy these past 12 months, even over-busy.  You see, I have always been very good with this “work” thing. It was how I was raised, by parents who constantly worked very hard to provide for us seven kids, and they expected we would work just as hard for our families when the time came.  And we all have, worked very hard.

After work one day last week, instead of going straight down the road to home, to work on the next task on the to-do list, I took a right hand turn and went one block to see a friend and her sweet puppy, Bella.  They were both thrilled to see me and I them. The next hour flew by, chatting and laughing and loads of puppy kisses, it was like we had chatted the week before, the flow of conversation so easy.  For many months, we had chatted by phone, texted, Facebook comments and messages and kept saying we’d visit soon, but we hadn’t.  What  a waste that we hadn’t!

My message to all of you today is – don’t forget the people, the places, the purposes – in your life!  We have all got this “work” thing down but along the way, we forget the personal connections that make us who we are.  We must take that hour to stay connected to each other. Social media can be great but can not take the place of the person in front of you, in the here and now.  My calendar is full, really full BUT I will do better, be better, at being “there” for those in my life.  It will add joy and love to my life.  Isn’t that what it’s all about?