George Bailey and Me

I feel like George Bailey, in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” George was a hard-working man, dedicated to his family. He wasn’t poor, he wasn’t rich. He was doing his best every day to secure a legacy. He was a proud man and would never ask for help when things got bad. He figured it was his responsibility, because it was his business. A business that he’d worked so hard for, a business that he loved in part, because of the people who walked through his door. Those people were his family.

I’m George Bailey. Right now. In this moment. My business is struggling. And I can’t see a way out. No, George didn’t have a pandemic to deal with, so we’re not all that similar. But I get him. I get what he was feeling. That look in his eyes when he realized he was indeed in trouble, and knew he had no way out. His personality changed. He was angry. He was desperate. He was trapped. Cornered.

It’s not a good feeling.

Unlike George, however, I will not run. I will not contemplate tossing myself off a bridge, because after all, there is no Clarence in the water to save me. I will not wonder how the people in my life would be had I not been born. I’m dramatic, but not that dramatic.

So what will I do? I will pray. I will fight. I will figure it out, if I can. And if I cannot, I will be thankful for the nine years I’ve had living my dream. And I will celebrate, like George did, surrounded by family & friends – because win or lose, I will never lose them.

And that’s what makes mine A Wonderful Life.