Giving Special Thanks on Labor Day

Labor Day has never been big on my list of favorite holidays. When I was growing up in Carroll Gardens, I always had a bittersweet association between Labor Day and the return to Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary School. I remember my plaid maroon uniform and brand new black school shoes, new pairs of knee socks and freshly ironed uniform blouses. Labor Day also evoked memories of that last dip of the summer at Coney Island and looking forward to jelly apples or caramel apples that Ralph the ice cream man used to sell from his truck before going to Florida for the winter. In recent years, Labor Day brings to mind end of year barbecues either at my brother or sister’s backyards in the New Jersey suburbs and dropping my younger son off at college.

This Labor Day, however, has brought a whole new meaning and sense of appreciation. We are still experiencing this hopefully once in a century coronavirus pandemic and life as we knew it continues to be on hold, at least for my family and me. My husband has thankfully been able to work from home for the past six months and will continue doing so way into 2021. It has certainly changed my everyday routine; I sometimes have to make an appointment to get dressed or clean in between his Zoom calls, but I am grateful for him working so hard for his family. And I am grateful to so many others this year, people who in the past I am sure I took for granted. These laborers are too many to single out but I am going to give it a shot here:

• First and foremost, I want to thank every single medical worker: doctors, nurses, aides, and cleaning staff who treated and continue to treat all those Covid patients, trying to heal them in the most dire of circumstances, often with inadequate PPE. They are heroes, every single one of them.
• The food delivery people are heroes in my book. I remember how grateful we were the first time we got a delivery from Whole Foods that my husband ran after the guy to give him a tip. We were clueless that we had already paid a tip online. It didn’t matter, those delivery workers deserved an extra tip.
• All the mail carriers and UPS drivers, especially our mailman Nick who is so reliable, so pleasant, just a wonderful guy (even pre-pandemic). He is a hero!
• The MTA workers, those who drove buses and trains and all those who cleaned and sanitized., and the brave cab drivers who still picked up passengers.
• All the workers at all the local stores who went to work each day, even when I was too afraid to venture beyond my vestibule. They include Pearline, Moe, Anthony and Joe at Met Food; Frank and Pete at Caputo’s Fine Foods; Jerry at Esposito’s; all the counter people at Caputo Bread Store, Mazzola, Court Pastry, and Monteleone; Joanny, Francis and staff at D’Amico’s; the butchers at Paisano’s who answered the phone during those early weeks so I could order all the fixings for a complete Sunday gravy; and Nelson of Martinez Grocery who became a grandfather in the midst of the pandemic, still stocked his sidewalk with gorgeous flowers and plants and continues to greet all his customers with a smile.
• The teachers and school personnel who put together remote learning programs with next to no advance notice last March and who are now bravely preparing for a new school year in these still uncertain times.
• All the moms and dads who found themselves working full-time from home and directly supervising their children’s school days.
• All the medical researchers who are diligently working on a vaccine.
• The funeral directors who somehow managed to respond to the sheer multitude of calls and arranged to lay all the dead to rest with dignity.
• The team at Sacred Hearts/St. Stephen Church, including Monsignor Massie, Sacristan Andy DiManso, Deacon-in-Training Edwin Rivera, and John Mark DePalma who have been live-streaming daily Mass and the rosary. You may not think of these vocations as jobs but perhaps they can be more aptly described as labors of love which provide comfort and bolster the faith of so many.
• The reporters who bring us the news every night, responding on often scary situations, with their masks securely in place.
• All the restaurant owners and workers who are desperately trying to keep their businesses afloat.
• All the first responders including police, firefighters and ambulance drivers.
• The warehouse/distribution center workers who have been able retrieve and box up almost anything we’ve ordered from toilet paper, kitty litter and canned cold brew to puzzles and mosquito repellent.
• All those workers from bodega owners to flight attendants who are just trying to stay safe when people refuse to wear a mask.

I had a similar profound sense of gratitude right after September 11th for all the first responders, many whom paid with their lives, just doing their jobs that day. Many workers have paid with their lives this year, too, just doing their jobs which left them open to this insidious and deadly virus. Who could have imagined that doing a regular day’s work could prove to be so brave and possibly so dangerous?

A couple of months ago, I mailed a package at Cobble Hill Variety and each time someone held the door for a postal worker who was making a number of trips in and out, he said “I appreciate you.” On this Labor Day, I appreciate all the laborers I mentioned above and countless others. I salute you all today and everyday. I pray that those who have lost their jobs will soon be employed again. God bless you all and keep you safe until this pandemic is over.