| I was newly married and visiting friends for Shabbat. Their four-year-old son had a friend over in the afternoon to play. My husband, Noach, has always loved children and there were two little boys that wanted to play with him! That afternoon, when the boy returned home he ran to his mom and said, “Mommy, today I met the Real Noah!” She looked at him a little funny. “Maybe it was just someone with the same name?” But her son would not be convinced. “No! It was the Real Noach! The one that built the Teva (ark).” |
| This story is one of those family legends that makes all of us smile. My children constantly vacillate between thinking their father is the real Noach (“He is an Ish Tazaddik!”) and not (“But Mommy is Sara not Naama.”…). Family stories like this aren’t interesting in and of themselves to people outside the family circle, but we can glean lessons from them and use them as examples to prove a thesis in a personal essay. For me, this story confirmed that my husband was a kind soul. He was able to relate to a pair of four-year-old boys so well that they saw him as larger than life. And as a newlywed, these were the types of stories I needed to focus on. Looking for the good in your spouse will soften the blow when you inevitably see the not so good traits. |
Exercise:
Do you have a family legend or anecdote that proves a thesis you want to share with others? Write a creative non-fiction essay that vibrantly describes the story and ties it to your idea.
