Labor of Love

Labor day. 
Such a ambiguous name. Because it's called Labor day, was originally started by unions for every man to celebrate their every opportinity to work BUT no one is supposed to work on Labor day because it's... labor day? Just take the day off to appreciate your labor done. Or something. I really don't know. Anyone want to google that? Because it seems like everyone works anyway.
At any rate, it's a big cunundrum, so I like to think of it by a more fitting description. Let's celebrate the ability to bring a child to term. Yaay, double meanings!

Twenty-six,-- check that, man, I'm old,-- twenty-six years ago my brother was born on Labor day. And around our area that means he was born near the Mama Ruth Picnic. A big hundred year long shindig for the people of the town to get together, bust their tukus' to put on a monsterous chicken dinner, and then relax and enjoy a beer tent all night. My mom was/is sort of the event lady at this dinner and so she's been there every year. Including one with a big ol' swollen belly the night she went into labor with Eric.
Boy, did Mom fool them.

No one believed Dad the next day as he went about talking about his first son. Apparently people joke about that more than I imagined. So no one believed her until she paraded that swaddled ball of baby that was tiny Eric. Years go by, Eric works every year at the picnic, brakes his foot/ankle? at the setting up and celebrates his birthday on crutches and I swindled (I say swindled because no matter how much I try the securitiy guards will let in anyone but me) my way into the beer tent to say, "Happy birthday, you gump. How'd you manage that?" and so is life. Labor day has always been Eric's time.

Now more so than ever.

I'll start by just saying they fooled me too. The first time in twelve years I needed to skip the clean-up portion of the picnic to drive back to school. And they let me! Suckers...

I was packing up my stuff when I get a call from my mom telling me to come up to the picnic "Just because."  And off I go thinking, "Great, 'just because' you need more help and I'm going to be working out in the cold of the first real day of fall when I should be driving down to Ann Arbor." Grumble, grumble. If only someone could read my mind.

That was until they showed me the ring.

And I scream and jumped and hugged, and then turned and punched Eric. "Why didn't you TELL ME!?" And I want to look at him and Alex and say, "How did you manage that, you gump?"

 Mom says he's just like dad was. Doesn't know his own strength. Big gump and always the life of the party. "He used to terrorize you girls." She says. But for me, he was my protector. Clark Kent turned Superman. Suppose that's just the luck of the sibling draw being the youngest girl.

In the end I didn't have to clean up after all, and I began my drive down to school with a smile on my face. It was a happy day. Eric's day, like always. I was even half way to Ann Arbor before I realized I had forgotten to put socks on.

The weather didn't seem to feel the same way as I did though. Grey and spitting rain at my windshield, I just felt like yelling at it and telling it to lighten up. Get warm. Let a ray of sunshine come through and bring a little warmth, man. Doesn't it know what happened today??

And then I laughed.

Maybe it was so cold today because Hell froze over.