Labor Day was always one of those holidays that many of us associated with school. Back in the day, the majority of kids started school the day after Labor Day. The anticipation was so intense that trying to get to sleep was difficult. This is how I remember those Labor Day’s from the past.

As if it were yesterday, I can recall heading out with my mom to buy new shoes, a lunch box and notebooks. Black and white saddle shoes were what I loved. They had a certain smell about them.They went along nicely with the black and white marble notebooks. In those days we wore dresses, not pants. Mom would always let me get a new one for the first day. What a memory!

I don’t remember having cookouts back then. It was all about getting into a school frame of mind. Summer was done and Labor Day made it official. Jerry Lewis and his Muscular Dystrophy Telethon also reminded you that the holiday was upon us. Every year when you saw it advertised on television, you knew summer was coming to an end. Salty Sixties would remember this as well.

These days it is a bit different. My kids were still in school when they had to start in late August, before Labor Day’s end. I had trouble even fathoming the thought. August! I was aware other places had been doing that for a while, but not here. It just wasn’t right. They went to school for a week and then had to be off again. Vacations had to be rethought, and shopping done earlier than one would have liked.

My problem is that I am big on traditions. You will see that as we get later in the year. Labor Day was the official end to a summer off, where all you had to do was have fun. School was coming soon enough. Everything fell back into place after that. Oh, and did I mention that the kids here will now be starting back after Labor Day, beginning in 2017! Nice to know some traditions may still live on!!