Genetics are Weird

Good Morning World :)! I am unsure where this entry is going to take us, but we will start with the simple statement that it amazes me all the time how much of my personality is derrived from both my father and my mother.

My father and I are alike in many ways, style of argument, ability to sell and make friends, ability to see logic, sense of humor, and stubbornness (wow, check out how I killed that word with my lack of ability to spell a word I dread). This leads to some interesting battles, and discussions. However, I am more open-minded and compassionate to others on a global scale. I also think I get my sense of conflict avoidance from him. On the negative, I hold alot inside until I explode - like him. We are also likely the only two people who can tell eachother to shut up - and have it work. Funny, D has the same power with me.

My mother and I are alike in other ways. She can tell a story which to Dad would seem vague, but I understand every statement (a woman thing perhaps?). She and I both need to vent sometimes, and we can do that together. She and I both like to do something a little wild every now and again, within reason. We are both compassionate to the needs of others on a global scale. I also think I get alot of my understanding of patience from her.

They are both great parents in their own ways, and yet both different. My father likes to avoid conflict and pain, my mother likes to take it head on and get it dealt with. And I take bits of them on a conflict-by-conflict basis. They are both forgiving, which I will take with my when I am a parents. I have put them through the ringer in my life, and the way they dealt with it, for the most part, was something to be proud of.

Don't get me wrong, they are not perfect, and there are qualities I carry that will die with their generation because I will not let them surface. I will learn to control my tongue (I get that from my Dad, I too can cause more pain with my tongue than I ever would with my fists), and I will learn to give up control (it took some time for them to learn that).

This of course is just a brief overview, but the underlying point I am trying to make, is that understanding where you come from, and where your personality comes from, is all part of understanding you. You do not just get given a set of personality traits, they are built. Some are inate, but most are learned. The older I get, the more I understand me, through them.