reSpoNse papeR #1

            I can definitely relate to Jessie Hawkes personal narrative, My Father’s Sketchbook, where she says, "The possibility that my father was not invincible shocked and softened me."  I experienced the exact same thing, discovering that my own father feels the same things I feel; excitement, fear, sadness, stress, joy, and pain.  My father has gone through many trials and as a member of his family, they have affected me more times than not.  I guess my first instinct is to think about the short end of a stick that I receive and not even give two seconds thought to the nub that my father comes out with.  I definitely agree with the author in the way that many of us don’t see our parents in a realistic way.  If your mom cooks, and cleans and helps you with your homework over the phone all at once, you should know what I mean.  Or if your dad knows the answer to anything and everything and is the constant hero in your life in every aspect, you should know even better what I mean.  My parents are heroes in my eyes and so every now and then I guess I forget they are human too.  Maybe part of it is because my father is a man that is content with whatever cards he is dealt in life.  But is he really?  Maybe that’s just the lighting I see him in.  Maybe I just expect my Dad to be able to take on whatever load he’s given in life and do it with a smile on his face, because that is what he does so much of the time…