The Birds Nest
Okay, so I made it back home from Beijing just in time for the Labor Day weekend festivities. All I can say is AMEN for that! I had a fabulous time in Beijing, but if I had to eat one more rice and noodle lunch… well… never mind that… but let’s just say that the family picnic on Labor Day was the perfect medicine for this particular homesick girl!! I made so many friends from all over the world while cheering on Michael Phelps to Olympic history. Awww, Michael Phelps… HA! I still can’t believe he won so many medals. I’m so happy for him, and for the USA. We also won the gold medal again for basketball. Coach K had those boys ready. The Redeem Team certainly did not disappoint anyone time time around. That relay race! Holy smokes! I can’t believe they missed the hand-off! UGHH!!! LOL!
Medals aside, I still am reminded of the spectacle of the whole thing that was the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The fact that for two weeks this year, nearly every country in the world gathered in one place with the best athletes they had to offer, and put on a show that I will remember forever. The people I met who have become my new friends, wow, they were great. I have so many pen pals now, my email is loaded every day with messages from Mexico, Italy, Jamaica, and yes, China of course! :-) I have to be sure and get everyone’s mailing addresses so I can send them a little USA / International Flag pin with my flag and their flag on it, and maybe a little USA flag for their room or something. Hey, you know what they say, “start small.” LOL!
Labor Day is always a tad bittersweet to me. Sure, it’s a national holiday, and a day off from work is awesome, but Labor Day is that flashing light, that division bell, that final signal that Summer is just about over. Parades, picnics, hot dogs! Those things are all wonderful and I love them (especially hot dogs!), but saying so long to Summer is always something that pulls at my heartstrings.
Labor Day isn’t even that old of a holiday. I mean, sure, it’s 126 years old this year, first celebrated in 1882 – which is pretty old – but that’s just a little more than half of the age of the USA. Definitely a lot older than you and me, that’s for sure! LOL! Actually, if you think about Memorial Day and Labor Day as the bookends of the Summer season, Labor Day is the older of the two. the big brother, if you will… Memorial Day wasn’t a holiday until 1911.
I suppose it’s not so bad, really. I think I’m just a bit sentimental… I think about when I was younger, in school, and how Labor Day meant that the new school year was starting soon. No more lazy summer days, goofing off, climbing trees, and riding my bike around the neighborhood (complete with tasseled fringe and bell on the handlebars). Now that I’m grown up and out of school, and have a horn on my car instead of a bell on the handlebars, I don’t have that sinking feeling anymore about Summer coming to a close. Now, I look forward to the beautiful colors of the Fall season, pulling out my NCAA flag and NFL football flag for my favorite teams, and the upcoming holiday season. Gosh, there’s so many, and I sure do love me some Halloween! I think I might dress up as Betsy Ross this year! HAHA!
So, yeah, our Labor Day picnic… the Fam’ totally decked out the holiday picnic with a USA patriotic motif. They said they did it as a “welcome home” surprise for me cuz I was gone for two weeks, halfway across the planet, but they don’t fool me none. My mom and dad, and my brothers, George and John, share the same affinity for the red, white, and blue, just like me. Can you guess why my brothers are named George and John? George Washington and John Adams! The first two President’s of the USA!!! Pretty corny, for sure. I can only guess that I ended up as Lexi because they couldn’t come up with a female version of Thomas (which would be for Thomas Jefferson, our third President)! Like I said, certainly corny, but not nearly as bad as the kids down the street who I rode with on the morning school bus while growing up.
OH! Speaking of Presidents, I sooooo cannot wait!! This is the first time that I’ll be privileged to vote in a Presidential Election. And what an election year it’s turning out to be. I’m still new to this whole thing, but what a way to get ushered in, don’t you think? So many firsts in this year’s election, and it’s also MY first time voting. Can’t be a coincidence!
Time to catch up on getting back on the right timezone. I’m still jet lagged but glad to be home.
Lexi
