Head Tale

Paul McCartney Concert With My Parents (2013)

As I mentioned in my post about the various Christmas parties we recently attended, now that I’m basically middle-aged (I’m going to live to be 90, right?) ;-), I’m spending more time thinking about the various things in my life that have led me to where I am today – the influence of family and friends, the educational and career choices I’ve made, some things that had an outsized influence when I think about it and so on.

For that reason, I thought it might be interesting to do a list of the Top 10 things that have made me who I am.

I’m going to try to do this in pretty broad strokes but it would be just as easy to do a list of “10 Books That Have Made Me Who I Am” or “10 Teachers/Professors Who Made Me Who I Am” or “10 Flukey Breaks/Coincidences That Made Me Who I Am” (and who knows, maybe I’ll do those lists someday too!)

Anyhow, if you’re trying to figure out what makes you who you are, I suspect your parents are near the top of the list for most people.  All of your earliest learning and experiences starts with them and as you age, you learn everything from your basic moral code to core life skills and so much more that set the foundation for who you become.

I think of my childhood as very idyllic and though I’m sure they did, I don’t have memories of my parents fighting.  Though I’m sure they did, I don’t have (many – it was the 1970’s after all) memories of them spanking or otherwise disciplining me.  I don’t even really have many sad memories of any kind.  Now, at 45 and working in a world where I daily interact with kids who don’t have those privileges, I know how lucky I was (and am.)

I was very fortunate to grow up in a setting that gave me access to the best of two worlds – my parents farmed but we lived in a house in town so I got to experience those very connected but different worlds.   My mom was a nurse and in a small town that helped us live a very middle class existence with a newer house, frequent trips and no shortage of presents under the tree every Christmas.

I didn’t grow up in an overly political household so I often think about why I’m so politically engaged now (hint: that’ll likely be another topic on this list).

I do remember my dad reading the newspaper cover-to-cover every night (even keeping back issues when we went on trips so he could “catch-up” when we got back) and mom was (and continues to be) a regular fiction reader (who even serves on the board of my small-town library today) so I think I come by my love of books and learning honestly (but again, that feels like another point on this list.)

So what else can you say?   Maybe the easiest way to finish is to link back to some previous posts where I brainstormed a list of reasons both my dad and mom have been such a big influence on my life?