This week, the nation celebrated Labor Day. Before I get into this blog, I want to thank all the staff and providers who worked this Labor Day holiday.
According to Wikipedia, Labor Day honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws and well-being of the country. I don't know about you, but Wikipedia's definition really doesn't speak to me, so I started to think about what Labor Day really means to me.
Growing up, it meant an extra day off from school or an extra day to play in a soccer tournament. Being older now, I started to reflect on the word "labor," or to produce work. From the age of 12, I have held some sort of job. First, refereeing soccer games, then progressing to making pizzas at age 15, and landscaping in the Texas heat.
My best job as a teenager was being a lifeguard, getting to work on my tan and getting paid for it. It was definitely an easy gig. My worst job I held when I was 16. My neighbor, who was in college, made working for a restaurant sound so glorious. So naturally, I decided to go to work for the restaurant as a dishwasher. The plan was that by age 18 I would be on the inside track to be a waiter - where the good money was made. For my first shift, I worked from 6 pm to 2 am. I was put in a room no bigger than a closet with a guy named "Buddy" (who was no buddy), and all night long as dirty dishes were brought back, all kinds of "slop" slopped up on me.
While I had many jobs prior to going to college, what I did not realize at the time was that each of these jobs served a purpose. I now understand that from mowing someone's lawn, to keeping the pool safe, to cleaning dishes at the restaurant, people relied on me and I was serving others.
Just like in healthcare, each job serves a purpose and all the jobs connected together make an enormous difference to our patients. We take care of folks at their most vulnerable times. Our strength comes from each of us working together! Thanks for all that you do.
Talk soon,
Jason