Second Sunday.

Wages, wheels, and one worry at a time.

This isn't starting off as one of my lighter, happier posts… Did you know how Labor Day actually came into being? I didn't, not really. 

It started as a fight, in 1894, workers went on strike against the Pullman Palace Car Company after their wages were slashed and their rents in the company owned town stayed exactly the same. 

Wages down, rent up. History sure has a strong habit of repeating itself. It took that strike, unrest, and federal troops before Labor Day became an actual law in 1894, basically a peace offering to the labor movement.

I'll admit, nobody is forcing my hours on me. I love what I do, and building my coaching business is the kind of work I look forward to. Which is exactly why I had the weekend mapped out.

Saturday was supposed to buy me a lighter Sunday. My brothers, dad and nephew helping me to get my car situation resolved before a nice family dinner, and then Sunday would be free for me to drill into the one goal I'd set, getting the finishing touches done on my coaching website.

Instead, Saturday ended with good family time, and also the news that the car isn't worth fixing. And just like that, a brand new list a million steps long gets tacked onto my week. Shopping for a car, getting financing, negotiating. What day can I fit this in? Did I check my oil? Is my tire still leaking air? Is my car even safe to drive? How will I get to my conference out of town next week?

My Sunday didn't arrive lighter. It was weighted down with double the work. Twelve hours into it, finally looking up for air, and I still wasn't done. Waking up today, with this not yet written on top of yesterday's added workload, and I'm feeling a bit more overwhelmed than I wanted to for this holiday meant to celebrate rest.

We all move through seasons like this, some stretches feel like smooth sailing, and others feel like complete and utter overwhelm with everything landing at once. This week is clearly the second kind for me.

As I headed out to my porch just now to press send on this message, laptop in one hand, coffee in the other, nature smacks me in the face. This beautiful Richmond September day is putting me in check. My brain will eventually catch up. We don't get many of these fabulous, humidity-free days.

My rant is over. The fresh air and dappled sunlight are winning. Instead of trying to see the whole week at once, I'm picking one piece, and it's not one you'd expect to find on a to-do list. Before the vortex of what's waiting pulls me back under, I'm going to look up, take a breath, and spend today with friends. That's where I actually recharge. Not from pushing through alone.

Fitting, maybe. The people who got us this holiday didn't win it by going it alone either.

What do you do when you find yourself in one of those overwhelming stretches?