A few weeks ago I wrote about my admiration for Fred Rogers and his delightful Mr. Rogers Neighborhood programs for children.

I mentioned the unusual way he reacted the night he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Arts and Science.

Instead of making that moment about him he paid tribute to all those who helped shape him throughout his life.

He asked his star-studded audience to close their eyes for 10 seconds and think of all those who “loved you into being … those who cared about you and made a difference in your life.”

As the cameras panned the audience, it showed many were moved to tears by recalling those who cared about them.

Mr. Rogers believed we all are shaped by many throughout life. I feel the same way.

I picture each of us as a snowman in progress. Some add significantly, adding the snow that shapes us and defines us into being.

Others may just give us a pat or two but that, too, helps define us in some way. And others put the finishing touches on our snowman. But it’s those finishing touches that gives the snowman character.

What I’m trying to do with this snowman analogy is to show it’s not just one person that makes us who we are. Instead, it’s a lifetime accumulation of influences.

Ask anyone who they believed shaped them the most and they might say their mother or dad.

When I was young I would have credited my dad as being the most influential person in my life. When I got older I realized it was my mother who did the most for me, and, in the process, greatly influenced the person I became.

My brother mostly palled around with my dad doing guy things. Yet as he got older he said he realized it was our mother who taught him life’s most important lessons.

We learned our money management skills from our mother but the most important thing we learned from her was that we could always count on her, no matter what.

I’m sure I modeled my parenting after her. The family values she imparted have been passed down through two generations.

But I have to confess, I never said I wanted to grow up and be just like my mother.

My hero, the person I most looked up to and wanted to emulate was my Aunt Rose.

When we needed a place to live she brought us into her small home. Her sisters may have had bigger homes but she had a bigger heart.

One story that most tells her character was how she brought home a mentally challenged man because he had no place to sleep.

Her sisters were horrified. They said, “What will people think.”

Aunt Rose never worried about what people would think. She believed in helping anyone in need. She didn’t just “do good” when it was easy or convenient.

I always wanted to grow up to be like my Aunt Rose. I fall short when I try to emulate her but she did give me something to aspire to.

Mr. Rogers was fond of saying sometimes we can have a positive effect on someone even if we only have a brief casual contact.

I’ve been spending time this week during my morning gratitude walks thinking about people who came into my life only briefly. But they are unforgettable for the impact they had on me.

It was seven decades ago that two caring neighbors reached out to help a little girl whose world suddenly collapsed.

Her parents were divorcing, her father was moving far away and her mother was struggling to find a job and a home for her children.

The little girl’s life was in turmoil but she felt at peace when Mrs. Kreiger brought her into her beautiful garden. She encouraged the child to just sit there, relax and take in the beauty whenever she wanted.

Two other neighbors let the little girl have a daily playtime with their prized German Schnauzer, knowing the healing a pet can bring about.

I, of course, was that little girl and what I remember was how those neighbors gave me comfort when I needed it.

To this day I believe every single encounter we have might be enough to uplift someone’s day.

We never know how a little encouragement can help someone.

A few months ago at a women’s Emmaus meeting a woman came up to me and said she needed to thank me for the hug I gave her at the last meeting.

“It made me aware that someone cares,” she said.

A woman who had just lost her husband told me that same thing.

We never know what impact our brief encounters can have.

The more I think about those who made an impact on my life the more I realize how many people shape us or help us in a significant way.

I thought this week about Mary, the Palmerton woman who helped me take care of my late husband Andy then helped me through the grieving process after he died.

I may not see her again but I will forever hold her close in my heart.

I owe a debt of gratitude to so many people. And if you think about your own life, you may realize you do, too.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.