Labor Day

 

Labor Day. I can't think about Labor Day, without thinking about actual labor. As in laboring to bring a child into the world. As in laboring to raise said child into a bright, kind, beautiful being. As in the most intense work I have ever endeavored. Labor Day.

This is my youngest...within the first minutes of life. She was a seven hour labor. Born on March 17th at 7:17 pm. She is so freaked out. Who can blame her? Why not swaddle her in a warm blanket? Looking back on it...the heat lamp is an intense experience to have right outside the gate, if you know what I mean? I had nursed her, and then the nurse swooped her up to clean us both up from delivery. I will never forget that cry from across the room. 

Work is relative.  Last week, I was researching for a lesson plan on Ancient Egypt, when I came across the fact that the Egyptians were the first people to ever strike against unfair labor conditions. It happened during the reign of Ramsey III in 12 B.C., and you can actually read the documented record of the strike here.

Here is a snippet:

"The two chiefs of police ... Pharaoh, the accounts scribe Hednakht, the god-fathers of this administration (came out (?)) to hear their statement. They said to them12: "The prospect of hunger and thirst has driven us to this; there is no clothing, there is no ointment13, there is no fish14, there are no vegetables. Send to Pharaoh, our good lord, about it, and send to the vizier, our superior, that we may be supplied with provisions.""

There is no fish.  When was the last time you were paid in fish? Not a bad idea. There are many Americans who labor full time and find themselves struggling to put food on the table. Labor begins with life. Work it.