Labor Day Is A Holiday Too!

   

     So if you've ever read here much, you know I'm into celebrations of any kind: new life, new beginnings, goals accomplished, birthdays, holidays, etc!  Usually in August we begin ordering homeschool curriculum, organizing activities, & making plans for the upcoming year.  We all look through the boxes of books with great anticipation.  We also take advantage of the back to school sales at our local Wally World, of course.  My oldest girls & I just LOVE browsing those isles & loading up on new supplies!  The beginning of a new school year is almost a natural high for me!  I especially get completely psyched!  We declutter the shelves, decorate the school walls, & count down the days!  We run to the school room on that 1st day just squealing!  It's pure JOY!

     Then. reality. really. sets. in.  We start getting more on schedule & waking up earlier.  I'm not a true morning person.  Our house is more of a "sleep late & wear our PJs" relaxing kinda family.  It becomes work, LOTS of work, lots of review, lots of papers, lots of tests, lots of new material to get use to.  Just when it feels this way comes Labor Day.
     THANK GOD FOR LABOR DAY!  We always sleep in!  It's like heaven on Earth on a Monday!  Seriously!  The kiddos are all tuckered out.  We've been through a major schedule change & adjustment.  This year we had just gotten back from a preaching trip to Alabama which made for an extremely busy weekend.  This brings us home dragging in suitcases, pack & plays, & an explosion of laundry at the very least.  Also, our van somehow appears to be lived in & even possibly infested with extraterrestrial beings!  Ha!
    & what do we do?  Wake up making commitments to unpack, wash laundry, & tidy up our vehicle like any normal human beings would?  I think not!  That would possibly rate right up there with blasphemy in my book!  It's a holiday!!!  Live a little!  Instead, we pull out the laptop & search out something rather local to do with the kiddos, trying to hold on to our last bit of summer!
     We decide on the islands of Jekyll & St Simons.  They are literally side by side & we can arrive in about an hour and a half or so.  We score a great hotel on the beach with several pools for a winning bid of $53.  Thanks Priceline!  Jekyll sports a water park with low fees for afternoon entrance while St Simons is home to several of our favorite restaurants.  So in record time, we dump suitcases literally in my bedroom floor, grab a change of clothes & swim clothes, & we're off!  The best part?  The holiday weekend is coming to a close.  Literally, I can count on 1 hand how many folks we saw on the beach or in the pools besides us.  It was like we had the place to ourselves!  We may have struck gold missing the crowds & having a great time relaxing together.  It makes this Mama's heart smile to sit listening to the waves, smelling the surf, feeling the water wash over my feet, squishing sand between my toes, & watching my kiddos blissfully play without a care in this world!  The fresh seafood & rich desserts were certainly a plus also!!!  I feel super blessed to enjoy this getaway as say farewell to summer!