Personal Narrative: My Dad Who Changed My Life

My Parents knew each other as children and briefly attended the same middle school. My Moms name is Barbara Jean Rein and my Father is Lyle Charles Shaffer. My Mom describes meeting my Dad, love at first sight. My dad and his family moved several times while he was growing up. When my Grandparents fell behind on the bills, they would pack up and move. My Dad has moved more times than he can count: Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas, just to name a few and it were like this his entire childhood. My Dad said his early childhood memories were happy; however, it gradually changed when he started drinking. My Grandfather was an alcoholic and he would get angry the more he drank, especially when he was drinking whiskey. There were many arguments and it would often become physical. My Grandfather broke my Dad’s arm, trying to defend his Mom. My Moms family life was not much better. She dealt with many of the same issues that my dad did. Her step-dad was …show more content…
Eventually, my Dad came back and they were married. My Mom was sixteen and my Dad was seventeen, still teenagers. For my Parents, this was a way to get out of the house. Shortly after my brother was born, my Dad went to prison for armed robbery. It is remarkable the healing power of God. The thought of my Dad doing this is unthinkable; he is the most honest person I know. My Mom waited for him; yet, by the time he was released the marriage was in trouble. He spent six years behind bars. This is why there is such a large age gap between my Brother and I. I do not remember much about our family life due to being so young. I do remember them arguing and I remember lying in bed listening to them fight, too afraid to get up. They divorced when I was three years old. My brother and I felt a lot of sadness for our dad; we knew he did not want the divorce. It was difficult for him, which made me sad when I would