Uncle Phil Dreams
It was the mid two thousands in North Carolina, a time when “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley, John Mayer, and the ever tragic fedora were at peak popularity in the United States. The generation who grew up on Fresh Prince, a TV favorite in my household, were just starting their lives and hope of creating their own interpretation of the “Uncle Phil lifestyle.” One of those hopefuls was Laura, my mother, a young wife and mother with a well-paying nursing job. However, in the blink of an eye, she would see herself succumb to a crippling illness; going from the helper to the one being helped. This moment would change our family forever; for me in particular, I would be taught a lesson in what true strength is.
On an inviting fall
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“Daddy where’s mommy? I want to tell her about my new book and eat pizza,” I exclaimed. My father released a sigh so deep I think it came from the core of the earth itself. “Kiara sit down, I need to tell you something...mommy [sighs] is not feeling so great right now and she is at the doctor.” Feasting on my pizza , and still unaware of the issue at hand , I asked, “Oh is it like that time I got an ear infection and had to miss school?” “No she is not that type of si-” “then what is wrong with mommy?,” I interrupted. “Honestly I do not know for sure and neither does she right now. So if you see her acting differently don’t make a big fuss ok? It’ll make things easier..I think,” my dad replied. My throat began to stiffen with an intense burning sensation as my heart sank,worried about what would happen to our threefold cord .
I became flustered only managing to say, “Is mommy going to die? Please tell me she will be with me forever right?” My dad was aware that I was on the breaking point and took control. He picked up my head in that way a father does by raising the chin ever so slightly while wiping away stray hairs and tears from their child’s face. With that one swift movement he told me, “Be strong, I need you to be strong. You need to calm down. I know you are my strong little girl right?” I nodded my
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Her strength endured countless experimental treatments and medications doctors provided hoping to eradicate the problem. This strength swallowed the heartbreaking news that she could no longer be a nurse. My mother had a heart overflowing with care too immense for our small family. She would tell me all the time, “Chuleta, I am so proud of you for being so strong. If anything happens, know I love you more than anything and always keep that strength as you grow into a young lady.” I did not deserve to be told that I was strong for I did not know the true definition of strength. My definition of strength was typically associated with the physical, brute kind displayed by athletes engaged in contact sport. I was aware that mental strength existed but my perception of this resilience was very skewed. I viewed mental strength as a trait only obvious in those who had to survive alone in the jungle or perform self-amputation on their body in the
Strength is the state of mind that allows one overcome an obstacle that barricades one’s path. Strength, not physically, but mentally, is the key to success in a person’s life. This characteristic is evident in former first lady, Michelle Obama, the epitome of one of the strongest people in the world.
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”(Mahatma Gandhi). When you have the will to do something or you feel strong enough to accomplish something you do not need physical strength. An example of this is when Gandhi had his biggest protest in 1930. He led over thousands of Indians on an over 200 mile march to a town on the coast. The reason they did this is to stand up to the British which had a monopoly on salt. 60,000 people were arrested including Gandhi which shows even though they weren’t strong enough to stand against the law they still achieved their goal of protesting the salt monopoly. Chris also has similar quote to Gandhi’s and that quote is “It’s not important, in life to be strong…. but to feel strong”(Chris McCandless).
...egories: physical, mental, and spiritual. Physical strength can be defined as; the quality of being physically strong, or capacity to sustain the application of force without yielding or breaking.” (Diaz 238). Reading this book brings about many different gestures of strength bringing about different emotions and showing that you can deal with heartache, pain, and every other emotion in various ways, but just like Cheryl Strayed said “Let yourself be gutted. Let it open you. Start here.”
Identify two strength-based behaviours and describe the effects to Linda and her family. (4 marks)
Seeing my parents in the crowd has always been very soothing, especially in stressful situations such as this. My parents and I have always been outwardly enthusiastic with each other, no matter where we are. Whether at a football game while I cheer on the sidelines or at a banquet where I receive an award, every time they catch my eye, they throw their hands up in the air and begin to wave frantically until I wave back. There were only two girls left in front of me. One stuttered as she tried to finish her speech, and the other swayed back and forth unable to keep still. It was at that time that I looked into the crowd and just as I had anticipated, I spotted my parents. As expected, they waved their arms wildly to catch my attention. I smiled and waved back, though my wave was much smaller than theirs as I was doing my best not to draw attention to myself. For a moment, I was at ease because of their presence. But just as the girl in front of me stepped forward to take her place behind the microphone, my heart undeniably started to race once
Her eyes were heavy, her body weak. As she crawled into the bathroom two feet away, Abby felt her body slowly succumbing to the numbness. All of her pain would be gone in less than 10 minutes, so why would she want to turn back? What about the senior trip Abby had planned with her best friend? What about the chair at the dinner table that would now be vacant? A couple of hours later Abby’s family came home from her little sister’s soccer game. Little did they know what they would find as they approached the top of the stairs. Her little sister, Ali, stood still as she looked down at her feet. There on the cold floor lay her big sister, her role model, and her super hero. Ali was crushed when she saw the pill bottle in her hand and the pale color of her skin. Her mom fell to her knees screaming and crying, wondering where she
Following that dreadful day, the next few months were nothing short of horrid. Through the many months of treatment, I felt the burden of staying strong for not only my mother, but also my father. It was my job in all of this to be a strong supporting figure. Throughout the time of seeing my mother go through this process, I wondered what it must be like for women who are not financially stable. I was not alone in this thought, either. One random night, my two friends and myself began to build upon this thought. Thus, Pink Bowz was born.
All of sudden her hurried pace slowed, trying to steady herself reached out for dad’s arm. At the same time, holding her up and hugging me tightly, explained, “They found a large mass above Eddie’s pelvis.” Mom was listening intensely. He continued, “The mass crushed his pelvis, the intensity of the pain caused the collapse”. Their conversation interrupted, a nurse approached with the release forms for surgery. Mom yelled, “What!” and burst into tears. “Can you please give us a second, we need to discuss this, my baby boy!”. Mom, the strongest among us, now seeing her tears flow, caused my fears to bubble to the surface for a bit. Suddenly, my dad clapped his hands to refocus us that Ed needed surgery now. His hand shook trying to sign the forms. Those papers represented the beginning of a long
When I walked inside the front door something didn’t seem right. The feeling of sorrow overwhelmed the house. It was so thick I could literally feel it in the air. Everyone was motionless. They were sulking;I was befuddled. The most energetic people in the world, doing absolutely nothing. I repeatedly asked them what was wrong. After an hour or so, my dad pulled me aside. He said that my Aunt Feli had passed away last night. My mind went for a loop, I was so confused. I thought that he was joking, so I replied “You’re lying, don’t mess with me like that.” and punched his shoulder softly while I chuckled. My dad quickly started tearing up and said, “There...
Strength is not about being a tough guy and being able to bench two hundred pounds. It is okay to be strong and still be scared. People can cry and still be strong. To be strong is not just about having a hard exterior. Strength is being able to overcome the problems life will throws at humanity, and society needs true personal, mental, and spiritual strength to overcome it. Strength comes in many forms but, all kinds of strengths are good. Strength is having the capability to overcome any challenge that is faced in life. Strength is to never give up.
I cried in my room for hours wishing my dad would not go, a whole month without him seemed like the end of the world. I would have no one to play hockey with, no one to tuck me in at night and no one to eat donuts with every Friday. My dad tried to console me but I was too angry to listen to him, I suddenly hated my grandpa for causing my dad to leave me alone. At the airport my dad gave me a long hug and told me to be brave since I was now “the man of the house,” (even though I am a girl), I had to take care of my mom. Promptly this made me suck in my tears and stop acting like a “loser.” It was hard repressing my feelings, seeing my dad leave made my eyes tear severely but I held them back, the man of the house does not cry. Time went by faster when I was at school, I had less time to miss my dad. About two weeks later, my mom got a call from India, my grandpa had died. My mom broke down crying, she slammed the phone across the room into the wall. I felt scared to appr...
Mom told me not to let you go and I did anyway. I always wonder how different your life would have been. I hope you can forgive me for that!” However, this is what he had to say about having any regrets from this experience. But, again, he was at no fault. Both of my parents emotions were running high at the time, who’s would not be? Any parent would be freaking out to an extreme level if their baby boy were in the hospital with his life under question. “My thoughts went from panic, is he hurt? How bad is it?” this was my father’s thinking while he sat in the waiting room. This describes his emotional state more than anything – worried, guilty, and frantic out of his mind. This was entirely acceptable, however – I feel like there would not be any other way to
My sister sat down and laid my head on her lap, I wanted to know everything would be okay and it felt like she was all I had left. She rubbed my head and told me it would be okay, that she wouldn’t let anything bad happen to us. I trusted her, she had no way of knowing it would be okay, she wasn’t that much older than me. We needed our dad to tell us, but nobody would tell us when that was going to
It was Friday night, I took a shower, and one of my aunts came into the bathroom and told me that my dad was sick but he was going to be ok. She told me that so I did not worry. I finished taking a bath, and I immediately went to my daddy’s house to see what was going on. My dad was throwing-up blood, and he could not breath very well. One of my aunts cried and prayed at the same time. I felt worried because she only does that when something bad is going to happen. More people were trying to help my dad until the doctor came. Everybody cried, and I was confused because I thought it was just a stomachache. I asked one of my older brothers if my dad was going to be ok, but he did not answer my question and push me away. My body shock to see him dying, and I took his hand and told him not to give up. The only thing that I heard from him was, “Daughters go to auntie...
I wake up in this room. My mother is to my left crying with her face in the palms of her hands. My dad, he paces the floor with his hands in his pockets. I am scared I can barely remember what has transpired. As my mother stands and looks at me square in the eyes, the nurse comes and says with a grin on her radiant face “Hello, Mr. Howard. How are you feeling?” I attempt to sit up, but my body is aching. My dad hurries over to help, but it was no use the pain was overbearing. I began to weep and apologize. My dad with a stern look on his face says, “Andra, you are fine now just relax”. How could I relax? I am stuck in this room with no memory of what happened.