Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day. A Monday off, in honor of the work — and the workers — that hold everything together.

I think about Labor Day the way I think about most things: through the lens of the ordinary. This holiday exists because generations of ordinary people did difficult, often invisible work, and then organized and insisted that the work — and the people doing it — deserved dignity. Fair hours. Safe conditions. A seat at the table. Rest.

That last one matters to me especially. Rest, as a right and not a reward, is one of the oldest ideas in this space — and Labor Day is that idea written into the calendar. A day when the whole country agrees, at least on paper, that people are not machines and the work can wait.

So honor the day the way it asks to be honored: by resting. Genuinely. And maybe by thinking of someone whose work usually goes unseen — and finding a way, this week, to see it.

Labor Day is rest-as-a-right written into the calendar. Honor it by actually resting.

Whose invisible work are you grateful for — and how could you let them know this week?