Karmic influences and rebirth

What subject does one choose while writing their very first blog? Many thoughts crossed my mind - but I eventually gave this subject the highest priority, coz it was something that bothered me from the very beginning. Why are we born to our parents, why do we look like we do, why are our circumstances the way they are? I turned to Daisaku Ikeda's book, "Unlocking the mysteries of birth and death" for answers. It was the most comprehensive book on rebirth, death and other aspects that I have ever read. I have been practising Buddhism for 5 yrs but never pursued this topic with as much fervor as I have now.

On Dec 2nd 2005 my father passed away after prolonged illness. The good part was that he only suffered 4 months - the bad one was that he never lived to see his grandchild, something that he always wanted to do. Even today, when my husband and I talk about him, its always - what would Daddy have done had he been here? That was when I started my quest towards finding answers to birth and death. Josei Toda, the 2nd President of SGI states "“Just as we sleep and wake and then sleep again, we live and die and then live again, maintaining our lives eternally.” And: “When we wake up in the morning, we resume our activities based on the same mind as the previous day. In the same way, in each new existence we are destined to live based on the result of the karmic causes created in our previous lives.”
Those words gave me a lot of solace and peace.

Now that I am going to be a parent, I keep wondering to myself whether it is my daddy who will be reborn as my son. I so wish for that to happen, for me to return all the love and affection that my father gave me.