I thought of my father today

This seems a fitting first entry, especially because it requires some background.

I don't get along with my supervisor. I mean, right now we seem to be getting along ok, but I know this to be superficial.

I talked to my father a week ago. He called at 8:00am on Saturday morning and asked how I was. I told him I was fine, that I was still going to the Peace Corps, that I was happy to be quitting my job. I told him that I didn't get along with my supervisor.

That made him laugh, he said, "really, well that seems to run in the family."

I told him it came from his side, but he just laughed again.

After my parents divorced, there was one night when my father locked himself in his room. He had never done that before, and it worried me and my little sister. We could hear him, crying loudly, but even when he heard us knocking he never opened the door, not until the next morning. I have never seen my father cry.

My mother cries at the drop of a pin. She always worked long hours, and always told me and my little sister that she couldn't get home earlier because she needed to help people. She threw herself into everything, and never hesitated to express her emotions. Her emotions have always been her truth, simple and strong.

My father always laughed when he found out that my mother didn't get along with a co-worker or friend.

I realized today that she could never close her door, the way my father did. But right now I prefer a superficial peace to an open, honest war. I can't know which one of my parents was right. Can you tell me?