Father

Thoughts on the photo of the seemingly uncaring father shown in class:

Most of us seemed to be in agreement that the father probably simply didn't know how to hold the child or care for it.

Looking through my old family photos for the project, I realized more and more how fortunate I am to have caring parents. Often caring to the point of annoyance, but that's a different story.

It's striking how purely happy my sister and I look in our childhood photos.

I was always closer to my mother and my older sister was closer to my father -- when my dad would go somewhere when we were little my mother would ask him to take my sister with him so we could have some time apart and stop driving her crazy. I was her baby. My sister, I guess, went off and explored the garage where my dad worked and whatever else they did together. She's a mechanical engineer now.

But the differences in interest didn't translate to any in caring or love. My sister is still closer to my dad right now but I suspect it's because she's older and has been out of her bitchy adolescent phase longer. As I grow up, I find myself becoming closer with both my parents and speaking to them more as an adult when I get upset than just getting mad and making everything worse.

In fact, I'll be 21 in two days -- my dad and I are planning to grab a beer.

-- Carolina Hidalgo