Ambitions

[poliphilo]

I've been looking for a line (I think it's from the Ingoldsby Legends- but deuced if I can find it) which declares that a man has fulfilled his duty to the ages if he has

1. Produced a child
2. Written a book
3. Planted a tree.

I've done all three- the first in triplicate. So, please sir, can I be excused, now?

When I was a very small child I wanted to be a farmer. Well, having just spent an hour mucking out the rabbit and the guinea pigs, I reckon I've fulfilled that ambition too. P.S. There's a reason why guinea pigs are called "pigs" and it's not just because they squeak.

Do I have any ambitions left? More pertinently, is it proper for a person in their mid 50s to still have ambitions?

Except to grow old with dignity and grace- and not to hang about too long.

Comments

[airstrip.livejournal.com]

Only random chance with sperm bank dispersions will allow me to fulfill (1).

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

These days- what with the population being what it is- I can't see a whole lot of virtue in #1.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

Perhaps phrasing it as "raised a child" would be better? Firstly because producing one (especially for a male) is just a biological process and not really any big deal and secondly because it means that it doesn't have to be a child of one's own that one raises or helps to raise. It could be a nephew or niece, child of a friend, adopted child etc.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes, I like that. To raise a child- and to raise it well- is the most important work in the world.