A Day to Cease Labor ... Phew ...

Does anyone else feel that the end of summer slipped in unawares, and then bashed us over our collective sun-kissed heads with the coming of Labor Day? Already?! I really am reeling from these past few weeks, and feel a strange exhaustion. As we took our "Family Walk" around our neighborhood this evening, kids speeding on ahead, Jack sniffing at every possible sniffable thing (gleefully stumbling upon Wiley the Cat, hunkered down under a parked van), I mentioned this to Don. It feels as if I haven't recuperated from Aidan's party, as if everything hit all at once. The planning, the party itself, then another family gathering ... all well and good, but then immediately we had to jerk to a halt and shift gears, thinking about school and new schedules and new routines. I have been feeling as if I am speeding through my day at 237 miles per hour without anything to show for it. I don't anticipate that changing any time soon, with Grace beginning school next week and having to drive her to and fro three days a week, something I'm certainly not used to doing. Changes, changes ... with no time to breath in between.

Our family enjoys holidays of every kind, from big Thanksgiving and Christmas blow-outs to fun, outdoor picnics on Memorial Day or the Fourth of July. Labor Day, too, usually falls into that category of gathering-time, yet when my mom asked me for my input on what to do, all I could do was exhale deeply and be honest ... I just don't feel like doing anything. Jim and Michelle and the boys will be on vacation; my aunt and uncle are on a cruise. There are other family members around but ... well, like I said, I just can't scrape up the energy to host something. Oddly enough, my parents were more than happy with my response, so low-key it is. No plans, no activities -- just some kind of nice meal together in the back yard later in the day. Maybe that's the breathing room I need -- for one day, at least.

Speaking of families, I've been watching Season 1 of The Waltons, believe it or not. Do you remember that show? With summer programming proving once again to be lame (before the season start-ups within the next few weeks), we haven't had much to watch. We've gotten movies here and there from the library, but it's nice to have something on hand -- a series of some kind -- to pop in when needed. Steve had given my parents Season 1 and Season 7 as gifts (why the gap? A sale, perhaps?), so I've been watching an episode here and there. Shows from the 1970's make me laugh ... often cheesy, way overacted, and seriously skimping on the historical accuracy that you see in today's shows, like Mad Men, for example. Set during The Great Depression, you often catch certain things that would never have happened. Tonight's episode, for example, featured a wandering minstrel ... who could have easily passed as the more handsome twin of Art Garfunkel, sandy brown afro and all. And when he opened his mouth to sing (I mean, lip-synch) the tunes were not of the 1930's, but rather straight off the Simon and Garfunkel greatest hits album. Hideous, really. But there's something about the show that draws me ... perhaps it's the mountain (clearly California scenery despite its claim to be in Virginia), perhaps it's the farmhouse (which has always been a dream of mine), perhaps the life that was just far less complicated in some ways ... Who knows. But despite the over abundance of cheese, I've been enjoying it.

What shows do you like to pop in now and again, for old time's sake?
And how will you be spending your Day O' Labor? Working hard to catch up, or kicking up your feet and breathing a while ...