Whether we can believe it or not, Labor Day is here.

Kids have started back in school. The hotter days of this summer are (hopefully) moving past us. And, supposedly, we are now to avoid wearing white.

This holiday is often the last big opportunity to invite family and friends over to grill some food and enjoy the day outdoors. To me, it also marks another day to be grateful to those who have paved the path before us and to those who work hard to make our country better tomorrow than it is today.

Since Labor Day was declared a holiday, the purpose has been to take a day to celebrate the great workers across America who contribute to our country’s strength, prosperity, and well-being.

In fact, it’s often when we are in our most dire situations these great workers step in to help. They lift you back up to health. They help you find stable ground to stand on. In truth, they save lives.

In these past few years, we have celebrated those who have worked in healthcare. Stories of endless days helping countless patients and families deal with the suffering caused by the pandemic has led to most healthcare workers being declared heroes.

Do they feel heroic?

According to Mansi Patel at Johns Hopkins Hospital, “Honestly, I don’t think so. [Nurses have] been taking care of people forever…This is what I do. This is what I love doing.”^[1]

How could we not celebrate the care and hard work of all healthcare workers? They have made a significant contribution to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Social workers are often an overlooked miracle worker. They help when individuals and families are in crisis. I’ve known several of these hard-working people over the years, and they are all amazing.

I read one story of a social worker who was helping in a case of dementia. They went above and beyond to ensure great care and reassure a daughter who couldn’t be there physically. As Ming Ho, the daughter said, “I knew my mum was in crisis, but I couldn’t get her to either see it or accept it, so she was hostile to any professional intervention. The social worker understood that she had to work with me in doing whatever worked for my mum, rather than what fitted into their system…I wasn’t able to meet [the social worker] face to face, but I just appreciated that she treated us like human beings. We weren’t just people in a system.”^[2]

 

You better believe social workers are helping provide strength, prosperity, and well-being to our country.

Sometimes, these great workers do even more when they are “off the clock” so to speak.

Firefighter Felix Marquez visited a home in the line of duty to install a free smoke detector. The area had been hit hard by Hurricane Irma, and when Felix arrived at the home, he found the 70-year-old homeowner dragging a piece of plywood in his front yard with nearly no hope of getting it in place on the roof.

The home had a blue tarp flapping on the roof and inside the home there was mold from leaks. When Felix let his fellow firefighters know of the scene, they were all in. They spent $3,500 of their own money on supplies and gathered at the home. That Sunday afternoon they hammered boards in place to provide a more secure roof.

Firefighters like this work hard every day across our nation providing strength, protecting prosperity, and promoting well-being.

You and I see it every day as we go about our lives. Great workers doing their best. Are there concerns in our workforce? Yes. But that doesn’t seem to stop good people from going out there every day and doing good.

So, this Labor Day, I am grateful. We live in a great country where every single day individuals, often receiving no recognition, provide strength, prosperity, and well-being to me. And to you.

Happy Labor Day to you and your family!

[1] https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/articles/one-year-later-are-front-line-workers-still-heroes

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2015/mar/17/the-social-worker-who-changed-my-life