response to an article 2
fawaz93
essay_1.docxBritni C Blackwood
English 1020-018
Personal Response 1
Personal Response to Daniel Gilbert’s, “Does Fatherhood Make You Happy?”
In Daniel Gilbert’s essay “Does Fatherhood Make You Happy,” he argues that parents are not as happy as people seem to think. He believes being a parent takes away from having a social life, but also concludes there is an unmistakable fruition a parent feels. For instance, “Children may not make us happy very often, but when they do, that happiness is both transcendent and amnesic” (777). This suggests that children are indeed capable of bringing gratification to their parents. No doubt raising children is a challenge, but I agree with Gilbert’s statement one hundred percent, because parenthood brings out the best in a couple. Parenting requires patience, sacrifice and resilience, which are valuable skills every individual should possess. Without these qualities Therefore having a child forces a couple not only to work together, but to develop satisfactory characteristics.
I remember a time with my parents when my sister and I were fighting for hours on end. When one fight ended, another started almost instantaneously. Like most fights between young siblings, not a single one of them was about anything important. Some were even started purposefully, just to have something to keep us occupied. Statements including “I do not like your shirt” and “Your hair looks bad” were involved. As the day wore on it became increasingly obvious how angry my parents were getting. They were periodically shaking their heads, raising their voices and leaving the room. Both of them had run out of solutions and oddly enough were starting to argue amongst themselves. They had lost hope in the chance that the chaos would wear itself out. Their voices were coarse and their energy was drained.
In an instant the fighting had somehow managed to cease. Next thing I know, my sister and I were playing together like nothing happened. We were laughing and enjoying being together. Card games started, coloring books were opened, and jokes were being made. There was no sign of any negativity. Soon it was time for dinner, so we all sat down at the table and continued our fun. Ironically enough, it was all my parents could do to get us to settle down long enough to eat. My sister and I were squeezing each other’s hands as hard as we could during the prayer and started tickling each other as soon as “Amen” came out of our dad’s mouth. We then began to throw small pieces of food at each other and shoot spitballs in drinks. My parents watched in exhaustion, taking in the sudden change of atmosphere.
Once dinner was finished, my family settled down to watch a movie. While my sister popped popcorn, I gathered blankets for all of us to share. My sister and I prolonged our mischief by trying to take all of the blankets and popcorn away from our parents. None of us paid much attention to the TV screen over the next two hours, although my parents were trying. Instead, my sister and I chased each other around the house attempting to prove who the stronger, faster sister was. When it was finally time for us to go to sleep, we laid in bed wrestling for far too long. Eventually, our parents came in our room to tell us to quiet down and get some rest. It did not take long, however, before they were in bed wrestling with us. For the first time that day we were all able to enjoy being together. After quite some time, we finally tired ourselves out. We bundled up under the covers and closed our eyes.
