It has come to our attention that some persons are uncertain as to the best use of Labor Day.
Fortunately, Tabby’s Place has over one hundred experts on this topic.
Perhaps you are one of those folks who feels guilty about “goofing off.” You see a free day on the calendar, and you wonder what you could deep-clean or spackle. This tells me two things:
1. You are not a cat.
2. No one can help you but a cat.
I certainly can’t. I am right there with you, bailing water from the sailboat of “shoulds.” I am up to my ankles in action items. When someone sparkly invites me to the beach or the Crayola Factory, I tell them I will have to check with the laundry first.
Meanwhile, the cats are free.
No cat in history has ever uttered the word “should.”
Their only action item is figuring out if it is possible to barbecue a corn dog without the inconvenient step of waking up.
And they are here for us.
So before you run that errand or answer that email, learn from the leading authorities on Labor Day.
They believe in rest and daydreaming. They believe in curling up like a shrimp for a nap. They believe in consuming as many shrimp as biologically possible.
They believe in the old poem The Desiderata, with its radical claim, “You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.”
They believe in take-out and tail-chasing.
They believe in snuggling someone until you are not sure what time it is.
They believe in mayonnaise.
They believe in putting the phone in another room or another zip code, so both hands are free to rub bellies, hold good books, and gesture wildly while telling stories.
They believe in anything that gets served with ketchup.
They believe all your work will still be there tomorrow, but today is limited-edition.
They believe there is an exception for the work of fixing their dinners.
They believe in the volunteers who give their Labor Day to be at Tabby’s Place. They believe such legends and heroes deserve anthems, accolades, and hoagies as wide as the horizon.
They believe in you.
Please make them proud. Nap boldly. Do large quantities of nothing. Lay on the floor with your favorite cat until you are lifted up above the cloud cover of guilt and grit.
Give yourself grace. Receive the day without laboring.
You can thank the cats by quintupling their treats.
It is a holiday, after all.
