4:00 a.m.

This morning we woke up at 4:00 a.m. to head to Waco for a horse show and compete in 2 reining classes. The show started at 7:00 a.m. and we arrived at 7:15...and planned to compete in the first events...eek!

Lessons learned:
1. Waco is further than 1 hour and 30 minutes with a horse trailer, and stops to pick up Johnny the Horse Trainer
2. Must check to ensure all persons have required paper work before leaving designated pick up locations
3. When you are late, running may not necessarily speed things up, but it will leave you sweaty and cause people to stare

Luckily, we were able to enter both of our events and Johnny was 1st and 3rd (after literally no warm up). I didn't have such a great ride (2 big mistakes) but still finished with two 4th's. We'll count it is a success because I identified a few things to work on between now and the next competition in November.

Here's a picture of the team from a show in July! Hopefully, this afternoon will include a nap. Thanks to Derek for driving to Waco and back within a 6 hour window this morning.

Happy Labor Day!

Why do we celebrate Labor Day? This was the question posed to the children's ministry at the beginning of church yesterday. One brave boy dared to answer that "Labor day allows people in the Army to take a break." He was close, and in all fairness, Memorial Day and Labor Day were a little confusing to me when I was six.

The children's minister went on to teach about the day of rest, and how God intended us to use the Sabbath as a day of rest, just as he rested on the seventh day of Creation. I try to remember that lesson, but unfortunately find myself cramming as many errands into the mix as possible on our 'day of rest'.

So, back to Labor Day. According to the all knowing Wikipedia, "The first Labor Day in the United States was observed on September 5, 1882 in New York City, by the Central Labor Union of New York, the nation's first integrated major trade union. It became a federal holiday in 1894..."

Interestingly, I work in a shop that is predominately unionized. Almost half the workforce at my company are members of one of three unions to support aircraft production. Many complained that we were not working Labor Day because they would not be paid triple time to work a Federal Holiday. One employee threatened to intentionally slow production on critical parts to ensure our shop had to work the holiday. For those of us that wanted the day off (mainly salaried employees), I'm grateful we received this day to spend with family and friends, away from the work place. As you can tell from my wee rant, work has been full of challenges in recent months, and while I'm grateful to have a good job and benefits, I frequently ponder what other things I could do and contributions I could make with my time....

In summary, Happy Labor Day! May you enjoy the holiday in whatever way brings you joy!