John sat quietly in his chair, thinking. It had been one of the worst days of his life, and he needed time to process the events of the afternoon. He sat without moving for a half hour, fighting back tears. Then, suddenly, he smiled and laughed for the first time since they buried Jackson. He looked up and saw his mother standing in the doorway. She looked sad, but she smiled and said, "It's okay to laugh, John."

What information might the reader have if the above passage were written in the first-person point of view?