Fruits of our Labor

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. ~ U.S. Dept. of Labor

Do you ever wonder if your work efforts are worth it? Take a look at this....

Hubby planted a handful of trees in the front yard a few years ago. This tree above is the lone one still standing. And it is barely doing so. Obviously, you can see from our drought of a summer that even grass didn't grow. But this tree has had a few years to pop out some branches at least.

We are not giving up yet.

Meanwhile, some 10 yards away or so, this big ol' leafy tree has just seemed to appear overnight along our front walk and deck. We didn't even plant it! Yet here it is!! (For now anyway.)

Ever wonder if you should just let nature take its course? Many of us don't and that's OK. Some of us tend to keep working hard at something and hope for the best result. Strive for success through OUR efforts.That's also known as work ethic!

The definition of Labor Day above makes it pretty clear we should just lay around doing nothing today except feel the rewards of our hard work.

In a perfect world, right?

Lots of people had to work today. We were fortunate to have the day off from the office. Not from "working" in general around the house, but it was nice to be on the homefront -- even though we spent a lot of time in our office (aka "Computer Room," aka "Clear Off Counter and Table and Place Items in This Room").

We are doing some rearranging in the house. Sort of our own version of musical chairs. Basically, Carter's bedroom and my scrap cave are trading places, while the Office actually becomes an Office for work (not Robyn's Dumping Ground). Carter will now have a bigger room -- but he'll have to share it in the spring when we host a German student. (It's a boy, don't worry.)

So in order to move fewer things, you need to have fewer things to move. That's how Labor Day becomes Labor Month around here. It will be a forced downsizing and de-cluttering. And it will take some work!!

The hard part for me, of course, does not involve the inevitable physical labor. It's letting go. Letting go... right out to the garbage can or recycling bin. It's remembering that an emotional attachment should be to people, not items. Well, some items, but not every little note or card. If you are at all like me, you know saying goodbye is no easy task.

But I do look forward to seeing the fruits of our labor. The "after" to our currently cluttered "before."

Let's get to work!