Labor Day Weekend

"What is Labor Day?" I asked my friend yesterday. She said, "I'm not exactly sure. I was just researching this recently. It basically is a holiday honoring the achievements of social and economic American workers." Isn't it funny that I have celebrated Labor Day for 30 years now and never really knew the definition. As a kid, in Indiana, I always knew of it as a day we got off from school after only being in school a couple of weeks. Now, as an adult in NY, everyone says it's the last weekend of summer. But doesn't summer go until September 21st? So wouldn't the weekend prior to that be the last weekend of summer?

It's funny because here in NY, the first day of school starts the day after Labor Day. So I guess that's why everyone says it's the last day of summer. However, I haven't had the past 3 months off from work. I went to work this morning just as I did last week. So why do I consider this past weekend the last weekend of summer? I don't know the answer. Maybe it's because today is cloudy and 72 degrees or maybe because the weather for tomorrow and Thursday is supposed to be in the mid-60s. Maybe the weather Gods know yesterday was Labor Day and they transitioned the weather into Fall.

I found myself sad last evening. As much as I would like to say my summer goes until September 21st, I know it doesn't. I had that feeling in my stomach last night like I was going back to school today. Depressed the summer is over. I sat and reminisced on our summer and then realized why I was so sad. It was probably one of the best summers ever.

It all started in the Spring when my husband and I, along with his cousin and his cousin's wife (our 2 best friends) bought a boat. We bought it "off the hands" of my father-in-law in hopes of it providing us a few good weekends of fun. The weekends of fun started Memorial Day weekend where the 4 of us painted the boat, cleaned the boat, spruced the boat up before we took it to the water. It may not sound like much fun to you, but the day started with bagels and iced coffees and progressed to cold beers and chips. The best part of the day was at the end when my husband fired up the engine and it WORKED! We jumped and high-fived each other like it was the biggest success of our lives!

Our boat, which we named Foxy II (don't even ask how the name came about), turned into our safe haven for the summer. We went on the boat almost every weekend, sometimes both Saturday and Sunday. We went to the boat to relax, to get some sun, to get a break from the stress of the work week, to hang out with friends, to do water activities, to drink, to eat, to be alone with our thoughts, and to be alone with the ones that we love. One weekend we tied our boat up to the NYPD Scuba's boat and hung out. Another weekend we found an outdoor bar on the water called "Louie's" where we not only conquered the art of boat parallel parking, but also discovered a great place to eat and drink on the water. Another weekend my husband and his cousin stood knee deep in disgusting murky waters while changing the propeller for their very first time, while my friend and I "supervised". This change of the prop (as my husband likes to call it) prompted an impromptu boat trip to the Statue of Liberty this past weekend. We haven't taken this trip in a few years because we never really trusted the boat to go this far, but this year since it was our own, we had full trust in it!

The trip was truly amazing. The waters were a bit choppy, but it was worth it. The NYC skyline seen from the East River is absolutely beautiful, but to be able to pull your very own boat up to the base of the Statue of Liberty is amazing. Especially on Labor Day, whatever it may mean, it felt very patriotic. Never the less, the day had to end. That evening my husband and I, both exhausted from the day, depressed the summer is over, sat on the couch and recapped our summer:

-we bought a boat

-we renovated our kitchen

-we found out our closest friends were expecting a baby boy

-my sister in law graduated college

-my other sister in law celebrated her first anniversary

-we went to Indiana to visit my family

-we went to see Paul McCartney at the new CitiField

-we chartered unknown waters on our boat and found places we will visit every summer

-we caught up with old friends

-I celebrated my 30th birthday

-my husband celebrated his 31st birthday

-we made it through our first year of marriage

-we planned our future

We decided that this summer was a damn good summer...