The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
“What was most important to us was who ran fastest and whose daddy wasn’t a wimp. My dad was not only not a wimp, he came out to play with the gang, running alongside us, tossing us up in the air, and wrestling against the entire pack without getting hurt. Kids from the Tracks came knocking at the door, and when I answered, they asked, ‘Can your dad come out and play?’” (Walls 59)
There are some qualifications that parents are (or should be) required to fulfill. But it’s often the alternative actions that leave their mark on a child. In my case, it was the days my dad would take my siblings and I down to the dunes for the day. We would play endlessly, splashing among the waves, excavating shells along the shore, until we were caked in sand inside and out. The fun was always amplified when my dad joined in. The key difference between my experience and Jeanette’s, is that her parents failed to accomplish the necessary tasks, yet excelled at the extra ‘important’ ones. It makes me pause to think about the what makes a ‘good’ parent by anyone’s standards.
2 comments:
I so agree! As a parent, I am always wondering if I am doing it right. More accurately, I always feel I'm doing it wrong! Hard to know what right is, though I think there is a minimum expectation for the daily food, clothing and shelter stuff these parents intentionally neglected!
This is such a true quote, and I love looking back on my childhood to see which one of my friend's dads fits the slip on this one. I also like the way that Walls structures this quote. She starts out with a simple topic sentence and then gives us examples that make sense.
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