My Father’s Son

It’s hard being an astronaut’s son. I often wonder how my father ever had a son like me. I mean he’s so special and so good at everything he does. But I’m just an average eleven-year-old kid.

Nowadays I dream about being a famous writer, but I used to dream about doing something spectacular to impress my father and make him proud of me — something like rescuing a child from a burning building or chasing a robber away from an old lady.

I was daydreaming in school one morning. I was daydreaming about being some kind of hero when my friend Ellen reminded me of my English teacher’s announcement about a Father’s Day essay contest.

“I hope we have a winner right here in my English class,” she said. “There are three prizes for each of you.”

When I got home, I kissed my mom quickly. Then I went upstairs to my room and sat down with a pen and a pad of paper. I started to think about what I would write.

How did I see my father? Hmm.

I saw him teaching me how to use a bat and how to throw a baseball.

I remembered how he hugged me for hours when my dog Spotty was hit and killed by a car. And I remembered how he sat and tried to explain death to me when Grandpa Bob died.

These were the things I was going to write about my dad. To me, he wasn’t just a world-famous astronaut. He was my dad.

I wrote about all these memories and put them in my essay. I handed it in the next day and was surprised to find out that the winning essays would be read in the auditorium on Thursday night. All the parents and students were incited.

My parents and I went to school Thursday night. One of our neighbors said, “I bet you’ll win the contest, David. I bet you wrote what it’s like to be the son of an astronaut, and you’re the only one in town who could write about that.”

I shrugged and then the first prize winner - Ellen was announced.

Surprised and thrilled, I went up to the stage.

2 . Not long ago, Linda was sitting by a hospital bed, feeling anxious. Beside her lay her 88-year-old father. His heart was ________ and he needed an operation.

What ________ her almost as much as his health was the fact that all day the two of them had engaged in nothing but ________ small talks. She and her father had always had good ________, but now all he talked about was the awful hospital food and the ________ outcomes of his illness. His once wide-ranging interests seemed to have ________ to the size of the room.

That day in the hospital, Linda’s eye fell on the ________ that people had brought as gifts and left on the table. Her father had always been a passionate reader, but lately he didn’t have the ________ or focus. She ________ a book, and started to read it out loud.

It ________ changed the mood and atmosphere. It was a ________ and a pleasure for both of them. Reading gave the daughter a way to connect with her father and help him in a situation that was ________ out of her hands. ________ allowed the father to travel on the sound of his daughter’s voice, up and out of the bed and back into the world of mature, intelligent engagement, where he ________ himself again.

In fact, almost any kind of reading to another person can be ________ to both parties, providing a joyful shared experience.

3 . It was the middle of winter some 30 years ago. I was a young father and _______ three little children. My education, however, didn’t _______ me to find a good job and now I was working for just above the _______ wage. One day, after I got up, I had to put band-aids (绷带) around my fingers and put more in my pockets. Cutting wood all day had caused my fingers to _______ in the cold, dry, winter air. Despite hesitating to work, I _______ started my car.

That day work was tougher than usual. The machines kept _______ . When the work day finally ended I _______ my injured fingers. The situation was worse than ever. I didn’t think I had ever felt _______ tired and sad before. I stepped into my car and drove back home. On my way, I had been thinking about why my life was so _______ .

I tried to put ________ on my face as I arrived home but one appeared ________ . My daughter ran up to me, shouted “Daddy!”, and ________ her little arms around my neck. My aches and pains disappeared into her hug. At that moment I knew I could ________ and that things would get better. I kissed my little girl’s cheek, holding her ________ . I think we all have bleeding fingers in our lives here. But with ________ we can make it through them all.

We had four children, never intending to adopt a child, but a call came through that morning. A home was needed for a girl immediately. The whole family prepared to greet her. The kids helped with the cleaning. That afternoon, Trudy arrived with a social worker, Mrs Kline. I’d never forget the frightened look in her eyes. I stepped forward, saying, “Welcome to our home, Trudy.” Her eyes looked back and forth like a creature looking for a way out. This had been her fifth foster home. No wonder she was afraid. For the first two weeks, Trudy was still shy. Mrs Kline had told us her history, but I never mentioned the terrible things that had happened to her. She also got along well with all my four children.

One day, when Trudy had been with us for about a month, I took my eldest daughter, Joanne shopping for a new winter coat, and Trudy went too. Joanne was trying on a green jacket. It was expensive, but she begged, promising to do extra chores for the jacket.

Trudy picked out a jacket she liked and was looking into the mirror for long. As I watched her, I realized it wasn’t the same girl that had entered our home about a month ago. She held her head higher. Putting the jacket back on the rack, she rejoined Joanne.

“The jacket looks so nice on you,” Trudy said. “Can I borrow it sometime?” she said. I hadn’t seen her face so bright before. While they were busy, I asked the salesperson to wrap up the jacket Trudy had tried on. “Please don’t let her see it — it’s a surprise,” I explained. For the next few minutes, I kept Trudy busy while the salesperson was wrapping it. We bought the coat Joanne loved and I managed to bring the parcels to the car without being noticed.

On arriving home, Joanne proudly modelled her new coat for Trudy again. I asked Trudy to go out to the car and bring in the other parcel.

I asked Trudy to open the parcel for me.

I took Trudy’s face in my hands, and asked, “Isn’t this the jacket you were trying on?”

Jonathan’s mother died when he was very young and his father brought him up. Both of them shared a very special relationship. Football was not just a game for Jonathan; it was a bond between him and his father. Every match, regardless of whether he played or not, his father would be there, a constant source of firm support.

Though his size prevented him from joining the main team, Jonathan’s determination burned brighter than ever. With each practice, he improved his skills, fueled by the belief that someday his perseverance would pay off. Despite the doubts cast upon him, he pushed forward, never allowing anything to make his passion disappear.

One day, as the sun cast long shadows on the field, the coach approached Jonathan with a telegram (电报) in hand. The weight of the message pressed heavily on the young man’s heart as he read the words that forever changed his world. He swallowed hard and his voice shook as he turned to the coach.

“My father... he died this morning,” Jonathan uttered, his voice filled with sorrow. His body trembled with the weight of his sadness, threatening to consume him. Tears flooded his eyes, rolling down his cheeks.

The coach, understanding Jonathan’s loss, enveloped him in a comforting embrace. The warmth of his arm around Jonathan’s shoulder provided a temporary comfort. Softly, the coach spoke words of relief and understanding, giving Jonathan the time and space he needed to process his overwhelming sorrow.

“Take the rest of the week off, son,” the coach said gently, his voice filled with sympathy. “And don’t even plan to come to the game on Saturday. Your well-being matters more than anything.”

On the day of the game, Jonathan’s college team was losing badly to the opponent team. The coach and the players had all lost hope when they saw Jonathan coming towards them. Jonathan ran up to the coach and begged him to allow him to play this match.

At first, the coach wouldn’t allow him to play.

After the match, the coach found Jonathan in the corner of the locker room.

Willie’s 11th birthday was coming. His aunt sent him a birthday present—a small nice notebook. There was a place in it for a pencil. Willie valued it a lot and always kept it in his pocket. When he found something interesting, he would write it down in the book.

One afternoon, after Willie came back from school, he called his best friend, Caper, a well-trained shepherd dog and said, “Come, Caper! Let’s go out and have fun.” They went to the pasture field (牧场) to catch the butterflies and there they found a shaft (通风井), which seemed to be deserted for a long time. Willie sat down on the edge of the shaft, bending over to see how deep it was. Suddenly, he lost his balance and fell in. “Help! Help!” Willie called desperately. But no response at all. He was so far away from the house. He made several attempts to climb up the shaft but again he failed! Now Willie was exhausted and frustrated. When Caper saw his master falling into the shaft, the little good companion ran round and round, reaching down and trying to pull him out. Unfortunately, a piece of rock gave way under his feet, and he fell in the shaft too!

It was getting dark. When Willie’s mother, Mrs. Lee came back from work and found there was no one at home, she was anxious and worried. Without any clue at home, she decided to look for Willie outside. She went to all the trees under which Willie was in the habit of playing, but he was nowhere to be found. By this time, the sun had gone down. A feeling of panic took hold of Mrs. Lee. She comforted herself that Willie might have come back. She rushed back, hoping to find her son at home.

She found Caper sitting in front of the door, with a notebook in his mouth.

Willie told Mum how he came up with the idea after he was successfully rescued.

10 . I’m not a barber but I cut my 5-year-old son’s hair. Normally, it would be _________ to get him to sit down for a mere 5 minutes, let alone 20.

Anyway, I began a haircut _________ the other day with a firm speech, “Ethan, I need you to sit _________ and behave yourself.” Strangely enough, he _________ to do it for the first 7 minutes. Then he started to swing his legs and arms and _________. My speech now sounded more like _________, “Please Ethan, don’t move. When it’s done, it’ll make a _________ and you shall get some candy.”

I tried my best to calm him down and it was somewhat _________. This was only because I took some time to explain the _________ and how he’d look different after that. When he understood the purpose, he was __________ to sit through the discomfort to obtain the __________ at the end. I had just taught my son how to be __________.

All things come to those who __________, as life experiences are just like getting a haircut. If we learn to not __________ and give the barber a chance to finish our haircut, we can __________ looking better than we ever had our entire life.