What Did Success Mean in Michael Parenteau's Family?

On Geek at Sea, Michael Parenteau says his grandmother's picture of success was practical. The family mantra was food on the table, a shirt on your back, and a roof over your head. If you could provide those, you were a success in her eyes. She wanted him in finance or another degree that paid, the route taken by doctors, accountants, and businesspeople among her eight children. She told him art school would not make money. She also sent him paints every Christmas. Providing the basics, not a creative career, was the definition he grew up with.