Look what I found this morning when I turned on the lights in my office!

The long (lovely, but still long) summer vacation is finally over. School has started again, hallelujah. Routines have settled back into play. All is good with the world.

Oh no wait…

When we woke up on Saturday morning, we discovered that our tenants (we rented our place while we were in San Francisco this summer) left us a little goodbye gift. In the form of fleas. So much for renting to people with dogs ever again. Sorry dog lovers.

So instead of a relaxing weekend getting settled back into our place after being away for so long, we went on full offensive to get rid of the fleas. Plus we called the pros, who will be taking the fight to the next level over the next few days.

Then, this morning, I turned on the light in my office only to discover that a good part of the ceiling has fallen in. Yep. So fun. A good part of today, therefore, will be spent clearing rubble, relocating my piles of belongings, and cleaning. I did a little research and found this article full of good dusting tips.

But I must maintain a positive attitude. I must. No matter how much I want to cry, or how covered with dust my record collection is at this moment. According to the Huffington Post, my good attitude may even reduce my chances of heart problems. (Though there are times when I wonder if it might not just be easier to have a heart attack and get it all over with quickly.)

So now I will look at things that make me feel good about the world…

Like Tess Giberson’s new collection for Spring 2014.

Pretty much any post on the Ace Hotel’s blog. I mean, it’s called Everything Will Be OK, for crying out loud.

Making yummy pink lemonade popsicles.

Just the fact that Stripes exists is proof that the world isn’t all bad…

Two women at work during World War II. Photo © Emmanuel Joseph.

In my life, Labor Day is generally a bittersweet day marking the end of summer. Bitter because the lazy afternoons on the beach or by somebody’s pool are pretty much done for a year. Sweet because school is about to start, meaning my days as sole care provider for my daughter are rapidly coming to an end.

Not that I don’t love hanging out with her, but, as anyone with a young kid can tell you, keeping up with them is a full time job in itself, let alone feeding them and preventing them from killing themselves by doing things like skateboarding across the street with their eyes closed or jumping into the deep end when they can’t swim.

I am exhausted, and am looking forward to a September full of more sleep, solo trips to the market and not having to squeeze my own work in between 6 and 8 am or 10 pm till midnight.

But I digress.

In reality, Labor Day is actually a celebration of, well, labor. And I am lucky lucky lucky to find myself surrounded by a bunch of women whose work is truly inspiring. So in honor of this auspicious holiday, please allow me to share some of the amazing things my friends are getting up to these days. — Read more

Ok see the guy in the sunglasses a little up and to the right of Dr King in this photo? That’s my dad, fifty years ago, being part of history at the March on Washington.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the original March on Washington, a few links to get our minds moving…

Danny Glover does a beautiful reading of Langston Hughes’ poem “Montage of a Dream Deferred.”

Ever spend time actually thinking about what happens to a dream deferred? In the case of one of our most famous collective dreams, Gary Younge believes that Martin Luther King’s most famous speech has been misremebered.

Check out these 10 slogans that helped to turn dreams into reality and changed the world (not always for the better)

But then sometimes, those dreams start to fall apart. Like that silly fantasy about all Americans having equal rights to vote. Seems the Supreme Court doesn’t feel it’s a right worth protecting. Read a little about what that decision means in the real world.

When do we dream? Often while asleep. Neuroscientist Russell Foster lays out what happens when we sleep and why we need it so much.

Learn how to interpret your own dreams online! (could be total bunk, but hey, you never know…)

And then get Sheri Clyde’s book A Child’s Library of Dreams and help your kids learn how to cope with, learn from and be empowered by their own dreams.