Why I Labored on Labor Day

I spent Labor Day 2014 working. I have spent a majority of the last four years working most holidays. This holiday was better because I worked over ten hours and my next paycheck will be better because of it. I don't mind working the holidays because I don't have anything to lose. I have no family or friends to spend the time with so I make sure that no one else gets to miss out on time they have with their family and friends. I have always considered the sacrifice well worth it because it is not really a sacrifice for me.The time is well spent for those who don't have to work.

What would have made this holiday a little sweeter was to have known at the end of the long weekend there was a job waiting on Tuesday. But, alas, I was told Friday morning that I was too old for a part-time, hourly job. They, of course, have a much nicer and more legal term for too old: not enough experience. I was a good fit for the position and I had aced the interview. I am too old and don't have enough experience. It's the same as saying "yes, you've lived a good life but you haven't really - you haven't lived." How can you write about a life and experience on a resume? How would you express your life and spirit in the space of a fifteen minute interview? This is something they don't mention in the guides to job hunting - you have to prove over and over something for someone who basically doesn't give a damn about you or your life.

I need a job - any job - to get my life back up on it's feet. I've been knocked down and kicked around for far too long. The job that I labored at on Labor Day has crushed my spirit. While the location is spiritually nuturing, the organization that runs it is not and can never be. I'm a lost cause working for a lost cause. I've been there far too long and I need to move on but I need the income desperately. I'm beyond humiliated and embarassed. I need cash and a life and I'm not quite sure what's more important. I'll take both or either any time. I'm better than this.

And so . . . moving on! Labor Day weekend brings the end of summer. Schools are back in session. The autumn months and holiday are my favorite. While it's not quite a new year, I've always considered September to be a new beginning.

Here's hoping!