Pull Up Your Britches and Do Something

David McCullough's recent commencement speech at Wellesley High School, Craig's alma mater, went viral and gained negative national attention because McCullough dared to tell the graduates that they are not special. Those reacting negatively to the speech are missing the point. McCullough is not being a Debbie Downer and killing the dreams of young, newly graduated high school students about to enter adult life. If you take the time to read or watch the entire speech, you will see that McCullough's goal is to inspire the students to work hard to become special and earn special recognition. Towards the end of the speech, he says, "Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to find you. Get up, get out, explore, find it yourself, and grab hold with both hands."

This speech made the rounds the same week that my 91 year-old grandfather passed away. During Grandpa's funeral service, the minister mentioned that Grandpa would often say, "Pull up your britches and do something." He would say this when he would see one of his children or grandchildren sitting around with nothing to do. Britches are what Grandpa called pants. His point was to stop sitting around wasting your time and get up and do something useful.

After losing electricity in the aftermath of Hurricane Carol that struck Rhode Island in the 1950s, my dad remembers as a 7 year-old complaining to my grandpa that he was bored and tired of sitting around in the dark. My grandpa's solution was for my dad to gather old flashlights, batteries, and wires from around the house to build a lamp. By the end of the day, my dad had built a MacGyver-style lamp and was no longer able to complain that he was tired of it being dark. He jokes that this experience taught him not to complain. It seems to me that he learned more important lessons. He learned practical lessons about how electricity works. More importantly, he learned to be resourceful. When you are in a less than ideal situation, don't sit around and feel sorry for yourself. Get up and do something about it.

My Facebook friends have already seen this quote, but I want to repeat it because I think it ties in with the theme of making the most of your life. When Alex was born, Grandpa gave us a card addressed to Alex that read:

Dear Alex,
Just grow up to be a healthy, normal boy. Always do your best, but have some fun every day and never loose your sense of humor.
Love,
Great Grandpa Stubbs

That about sums it up. It's up to you how special you are and your life is. Do your best, but have some fun every day.