Doing what you love for work is a luxury. It’s taken me a long time to realize that. While I’d be a lot happier as a food critic, the reality is that we don’t just work for fun: we work to pay the bills, to provide a better life for ourselves and perhaps our families, whether they consist of kids, lovers, parents, or pets. While we can’t all have glamorous jobs, it’s important to remember that providing a roof over your loved ones heads and/or putting food on the table is more than some people are able to do. It’s beautiful, really. 

While most adults are capable of maintaining a healthy or realistic perspective on this matter, sometimes it’s harder for kids. I was pretty lucky in elementary school. My dad worked for the Now and Later candy factory, and would come home smelling like sugar every day. He’d bring candy in for my classmates and regale them with stories about being a real-life Willy Wonka in the factory’s lab. Unfortunately, not all jobs are as exciting as being a candy man, and we recently came across a heartbreaking Reddit thread that deals with this unfortunate truth. 

The thread was started in the r/family subreddit by a concerned father who was struggling with the idea that his son is embarrassed by his profession as a sanitation worker. The revelation occurred after a parent career day event where the father explained that he picks up trash every day. He noticed that as he was speaking to the class, his son’s head seemed to be hung in embarrassment. While of course his son’s intentions probably weren’t malicious, it’s easy to see how upsetting this would be for his father. Dad’s concern only grew when his normally talkative son was painfully quiet on the ride home. 

Instead of letting things be or stewing, Dad asked the r/family community for advice on the matter, and they were more than happy to comply. Here’s hoping Dad was able to get through to his kid. He really seems like a great father.