Pick Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps

As I was walking my dog this afternoon, a familiar face approached us and began his usual, “How’s my girl?” And “Give me a kiss.” Of course, he was talking to Dahlia, not me. He was wearing a cook’s apron and was a block from where we normally see him, outside of the liquor store on 12th politely selling “Real Change.” He told us, “I won’t be selling Real Change anymore. I’m a cook by trade. I got a job at the Satellite. They’re going to be introducing soul food to the menu.” He seemed very proud and happy. And I congratulated him, knowing that obtaining work that leverages your skills and expertise is always a wonderful thing and that to move from a state of transition to stability is also pretty darn cool.

And while I’m sure he and I have very different life stories, we probably aren’t that different, really.

I think back to my formidable years. A teenager with parents divorced and a mother diagnosed with bi-polar disease. After my family imploded, I stood on shaky ground not knowing what might come next. Eventually, still a teenager, I learned that I had to pick myself up by my bootstraps and find my own way. Not a bad life lesson. Wisdom can only come from going through something difficult.

As an adult, having gone through another sort of massive implosion of a family (hey…I was at the company for over seven years. I spent more time there than I did with my actual family) I am again in a situation where I have to pick myself up by my bootstraps and charge ahead into an uncertain future. I keep telling myself, “You’re the only one who can make this happen and you can make it happen.” Most days I believe that mantra. Some days, I don’t. And I wonder how the hell I ended up here.

Just like I can only wonder how my “Real Change” vendor ended up homeless and needing to make .35 cents on a $1 paper. And how he became a cook. And how he has kept such a sunny disposition even though he has been struggling to make ends meet. Maybe some day, we’ll be able to sit down over a beer and collard greens and tell each other our stories.