The Meaning of Labor Day

On the way to church yesterday, our family was admiring the perfect weather. It's summer's last hurrah, all blue skies and warm water and green grass and cool breezes.

"And it's a good thing," I said, looking in my rearview mirror. "Because tomorrow is Labor Day, and the day after that...."

"Schools starts," Natalie chimed in. "We know."

"But first we have tomorrow," said Corey, "with homemade donuts in the morning (a Labor Day tradition in our family) and a full-day spent on the water in the boat with our friends."

"Do you know why it's called Labor Day?" I asked the back half of the minivan.

Hearing no reply, I said, "It's to honor mothers everywhere, since they have to work hard in order for babies to be born. That's called labor, so tomorrow is Labor Day because of it."

Corey snorted. "No, it's really called Labor Day in honor of dads, who have to go to work every day to support their families."

Natalie, increasingly skeptical, said, "It's not either of those things. I know it's because kids have to go back to school the day after Labor Day, and we are the ones who really have to work hard. So it's called Labor Day because of us."

Turns out, there's a Kids Day after all.