Stepping Up
Good morning to everyone……except for Grandpa Joe! Have you ever seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? We watched it as a family last night, and as always, a classic! Hot take: Grandpa Joe is the worst movie character of all time.
As the movie unfolds and the characters are introduced, we discover that Charlie Bucket's family lives in poverty. His mom works at a laundromat, where she uses her single income to support Charlie and four bedridden grandparents in very tough living conditions. On the night this movie begins, Charlie is disappointed that dinner will be "cabbage water again." Not cabbage soup, but cabbage water. In another scene, Charlie gets his first paycheck from his new paper delivery route. He uses this financial windfall to purchase a delicious-looking loaf of bread for the family, which Grandpa Joe calls "a feast." At the same time, we find out that while the family barely has enough money to serve cabbage water, a portion of their resources is used to support Grandpa Joe's tobacco habit. Did I mention that Grandpa Joe and the other three grandparents have been bedridden for 20 years? 20 years!!!
Now, I'm not here to bash senior citizens or people who don't have the physical capacity to move about. I'm here to bash on what happens next. After Charlie miraculously and magically wins the fifth and final golden ticket to tour Willy Wonka's factory, he hesitantly invites Grandpa Joe to be his guest. Yes, the same Grandpa Joe who hasn't left his bed in two decades. And whataya know, two minutes later, Grandpa Joe is dancing around the living room like he's an energetic teenage boy.
The entire family has spent the last 20 years, and the entirety of Charlie's life, living in poverty. All the while, Grandpa Joe just needed something he cared enough about to spring from his bed and become productive. Providing for his in-need family didn't do the trick, so it's a bit disappointing that a one-day tour of a chocolate factory was what flipped his switch.
Yes, I realize it's just a movie. I know it's silly. I know it's not meant to be taken seriously. I love that movie so much! But Grandpa Joe always gets to me. We need to step up. All of us.
Day after day, I write and podcast about pursuing work that matters, aggressively chasing a meaningful life that's full of fulfillment, impact, and curiosity. I believe in all of that.....with every ounce of my being. At the same time, however, we also need to step up and take care of our families. Never do I suggest that we should abandon our responsibilities to provide and care for those who matter most by recklessly and irresponsibly living our lives.
We need to have both. Yes, we need to aggressively pursue that meaningful life, but at the same time, we must do what we need to do to put food on the table, a roof over our heads, and water in the pipes. The act of providing, even if through less-than-ideal work, is a meaningful endeavor. We ought not lose sight of that.
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