One day, soon after my mother had passed away, a thought struck me.  I was listening to an interview about the education system in the U.S.  I felt myself think, education is one of the most valuable tools we can give our children.  I thought of this belief as my own, but I realized my mother had said it many times.  Suddenly, it became evident to me, many of my beliefs about life were influenced by my parents.  This came as a shock to me, not because I never realized my parents, or any one’s for that matter, have an influence on your life.  The shock came that I still held fast to so many of those beliefs and had taken them on as my own. Thinking back to conversations with my mother I remembered how her father had influenced her with his thoughts on education.   I struggled with the image of myself, as a 50 something woman,  still a child clinging to her parents beliefs. Did I truly believe these ideals or was I just repeating them?

My conclusion is this.  My beliefs are my own, because I have chosen them as such.  That is not to say, those beliefs are not the same or similar to the ones my parents had.  But, I’m not sure that is a bad thing.  I also realize that I have altered some of my beliefs to fit into life lessons I have learned.  And in the end, isn’t that what parents are supposed to do?  Give you a foundation from which to build your own house? I then realized, with both of my parents dead, I am the one to carry on those beliefs or let them fade.   I am the keeper of our family torch.  One that I hope to keep well lit.