The thought of approaching winter leaves me cold – no pun intended. Labor Day, the most depressing holiday of the year because of the many events it signifies, has come and gone already, meaning summer has packed her bags with the intention of departing while winter lurks gleefully just around the corner. To make matters worse, the Glasgow weather office informs us that La Nina plans to return, meaning the potential exists for another cold winter with above normal precipitation. Just what I did NOT want to hear.
I adore summer and just about everything that comes with it, with the exception of ticks and mosquitoes. I can’t say the same for winter; in fact, I dread winter. I have trouble with long dark nights and very short days with little daylight, I detest excessive cold and piles of snow, and I abhor dealing with less than pristine roadways and snow-packed streets.
To me, the Labor Day weekend signifies the end of everything I like: the last of the garden, impending frost and cold, the end of biking, no more warm sun on my cheeks, and of course the loss of daylight. When I still attended school, Labor Day also meant the loss of freedom with the return to the classroom. Sure, Labor Day is a paid holiday, but it epitomizes the loss of wonderful, magnificent, cherished summer days.
Labor Day had its origins in 1882 when on Sept. 5 labor unions staged the first ever Labor Day parade in New York City. Organizers chose the first Monday in September for the occasion as this date falls halfway between July 4 and Thanksgiving.
After a series of labor riots in 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a declaration into law proclaiming the first Monday in September as Labor Day, to honor the working men and women of this country. With a stroke of a pen, he formally set a date that has depressed school aged children for decades and discourages most of the rest of us by reminding us in no uncertain terms that summer has passed by in a whirl and long, slow-moving dark cold winter skulks just around the corner, ready to pounce with all claws bared and ready for action.
Yes, we get together as families for Labor Day barbecues, most of us get the day off, and enjoy the company of family and friends. However, I get together with family and friends all year long, and we barbecue as late into the year as possible and fire up the barbecue again as soon as weather permits in the early spring. Last year, my barbecue disappeared under a snow drift by the first of December and didn’t emerge from underneath the white crap until March. Hopefully this year won’t give us as much snow, but even if it doesn’t, the passing of Labor Day reminds me in no uncertain terms that I face long, dark days in the months to come.
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