“Labor Day Coming UP”

       “Expecting? – Mr. Holiday?!”

Today – the 29th of August will just about  finish the month – but on the  2nd of September, we welcome “Mr. Holiday”  which used to be “Labor Day”  a rest  from our “work”  and according to whom?

Every store will be “OPEN” and so many will spend the whole day shopping,  and the rest of us are going to be in the back yard with our bar-b-cuing  and  “SUN-baking” ourselves to a crisp! After all these many years of doing the same thing, even  myself,  I’m  letting everyone else, do the work and  I will just sit back and enjoy!

While just sitting back and thinking about how this day was celebrated,  when I was  an “ORPHAN” and there were 350  of us children, and  when it came on  to a special “HOLIDAY” such as this, this would be considered a “RED LETTER DAY” in our times!

“LABOR  DAY” was  that day,  that all the children would have been preparing for. In the previous weeks,  there would be different “RACES”  which we would all participate in.  We were practicing to see, just  who might win  the special prizes.

If you were a runner, we would see  you running all around and with others,  just to see who possibly would win? Some of the kids would try doing the two-legged and three-legged races, also just trying to see which combination of kids could coordinate  well enough together,  and maybe win in those types of races? Some of us would get some spoons from the kitchen and each participant would put a rock in the spoon,  and we would run against others,  just to get an idea of  who  would be a winner?

On “RACE DAY” the NUNS would hand out an egg, to be used in that spoon, so you had to learn self-control and be fast, too!  – – “Dropped eggs = looser!”

There was one race that I enjoyed doing,  and that was the one which involves,  that you put a book on your head, and walk-fast,  using complete control over how you hold your head,  so as to not let that “BOOK” fall off!  I was lucky to win at this race several times, just guessing that  I might have a “HEAD FOR BOOKS!”   “Just a small laugh…here?”

The NUNS would have tables set up with all kinds of good stuff, that the kids would like to have. Almost  all items were donated for the kids,  but they would collect  and save things just for this “LABOR DAY” event, so that this would be, the best “HOLIDAY”  for all the kids to have fun!

Also, there would be 1st – 2nd  – 3rd  and 4th place prizes – that way, almost every child would get a chance to pick out something for themselves,  and having  “FUN”   while feeling like a WINNER,  of the BIG  “RACE” event!

We would always have “Supper” at 6:00 pm and to finish the “LABOR DAY” FUN,  there would be a movie for us to view outside on the “BOY’s” side of the play ground.  The plan being, if the weather is good, but  in the case of bad weather the movie would be shown in the Auditorium.

For “ORPHANS”  having FUN,  was the one part of living in the “Orphanage” that kept a lot of us growing up with some kind of “HOPE”  that,  someday when we leave and have families of our own, we did  have  some fun and will be looking forward to giving  even more  FUN to  our own families, and  with more “LOVE”  than, that which we had  received.

Just  thinking about those “GOOD OLE DAYS”   so long ago, but almost seems like – just yesterday,  just having  a thought to add, “LIFE” continues,  so that “TOMORROW WILL BE A FAR BETTER DAY!”   D.V.


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