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. In the day to day, do you notice who these contributors are?

Today is a day, we the working people, celebrate our hard work and our contribution to our society. This is something many of us don’t really think about or honor much. This day is a Really important day to be Honored and Celebrated. We need to heighten our senses in what each and every job provides in our communities & show some Love to our fellow workers on this day. Be sure to at least say “Thank You” to those who serve you in their job. And in your job, “be that best that you can be” and an appreciation harvest will come your way too. (love that saying, “Be the best that you can BE”) Did you know there are 71 verses in the bible about working? http://www.openbible.info/topics/hard_work    A few of my fav are?  Genesis 2: 16 ” The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Proverbs 16:3 ” Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. ” Proverbs 6: 6-8 “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest ”  Galatians 6:9 ” And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ”  James 2:17 “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”

Notice in my 1st verse choice it is clear God created us to take care of ( work ) planet Earth and keep it… care for it, live with & on it which takes work. All things take Care and Work, even Faith or they will be Dead. (in some form and fashion if not literally) Yes, it is due to our work & the work of our neighbors we have food, water, cars, TV’s, fun places to go, music, Relationships (yes, relationships…good ones take working Love to stay alive), & my list can go on and on and 0n. Ponder that.

I close with these areas of service, I believe we definitely need to give more Thanks and appreciation to:

The Cleaning industry…janitors & maids. Trash Pick up. Truck/airlines/buses/ trains/ Delivery Drivers, CNA’s at our hospitals and I know that list goes on but for now Just think on these and be surprised at the awareness it will open within you. How would your neighborhood be without  the Trash Pick Up?  Yuck ! And now think about doing that job, smelling the trash, literally picking it up at times the truck can’t all day long. Keep an eye out for your trash pick up and take them a batch of nice smelling cookies or bagels or something & say Thank You. Janitors and Maids: Just imagine if no-one came and cleaned your place of employment or the hotel you stayed in this weekend…  again Yuck & without the wonderful maids job you would be “working” on your vacation hmmmm, think about how important that job of Labor is, I don’t want to clean bathrooms and change beds for everyone on my vacation. ..so Tip the Maid ! Maybe get her a massage gift card cause their bodies have got to ache at the end of the day. The Transportation/Delivery World: Boy! when I think of this one I can see how Our life existence could come to a halt without these Jobs! Just think – our Food, medicines, office supplies, gasoline to the gas station so we can drive our cars to work, computer deliveries/repairs, transportation workers that take many working people to their jobs! Do you ever consider bringing a little gift to the bus driver or tip the airline steward…they are serving you drinks after all.  Or stop in a truck stop and by a trucker a meal or just walk up to the trucker/ and say THANK YOU! CNA’s at our hospitals – Boy what a job that is…bathing people, cleaning up throw up, you get my drift. When caring for my parents the last year of their lives I really came to know what a Blessing these jobs of service provide and what Angels the CNA’s can BE. What a job for such low pay and so many are doing that job with a smile. We definitely need to THANK them any chance we get. Here are some ideas: get with out local hospitals and nursing homes and do appreciation days for the CNA’s or gift cards. We acknowledge the Nurses a lot but, the CNA gets left behind a bit to often. It’s great to focus on the patients but, we need to honor and give Kudos to the staff who are caring for those patients. What a great idea just struck me…Take a little time (like 2 hrs) on Labor Day & go lend a hand to the service workers, cause these jobs don’t get the day off.  Visit a patient, pick up the room while you visit, or take the patient outside for some air. This helps the CNA more than you realize, it keeps the patient busy and off their buzzer ringing for the CNA to come do this and that.  Don’t have time to spare, take a gift that will aid in the service worker getting a bit of fun and relaxation on Labor. Like a basket of goodies for the break room or have Starbucks coffee and tea with bagels delivered on each shift. (bet if you approach Starbucks they might even give a discount to the cause)  There is another worker that we need to show more Love, the customer service workers at our Restaurants/Fast Food, Stores, Drs. office front desk and phone reps…again not such high paid jobs typically but, where would our communities be without their “working” at their job?  Wouldn’t hurt to give a gift card to them sometimes too and at least acknowledge them when we are in front of them. Say something pleasant, Put your Phone down!, stop complaining they aren’t friendly (do you pay attention to how many people are rude to these positions?) Instead of complaining, Be nice and you will be surprised at what kind Words & thankfulness can do to a persons energy when interacting with you.

So, there ya have it…. My employer CHMB has a ” You are a Star” appreciation entry to show appreciation to our fellow employees for work they do that affects our daily job. This Thank you entry put that person in a Raffle drawing & then staff person not only gets an email letting them know they are appreciated and why…they have potential to win a prize. So, let’s follow that lead and get out there & show some ” Your are Appreciated” Thankfulness on Labor Day to those working neighbors who serve you providing many of your needs.  Think about it…if this caught on, no matter what the job is, we would likely All end up with someone showing appreciation in every job out there (including yours) smile. We would all be more encouraged and I can say with confidence there would be a lot more smiles and work would be less stressful.