15 minutes of fame

This is a beautiful poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
What is Success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

To me, raising a family of four well and admirably (no one called you from jail, right?) who go on to have their own children is the biggest accomplishment a mother can do!

Your journey to overcome stage 4 cancer for ten years shows your strength, courage and positive attitude. What a wonderful example you are for others!

You are lucky. It’s all about gratitude.
USA Gundy

Skydancer that is lovely - a joy to read.

Yes, and it's called a funeral. Don't rush towards it!

I was recently having the same thoughts - wondering exactly what I had achieved. Then my son received a very important award. The details were online to which he replied if it hadn't been for his mum and dad who gave love and support he would never have received this award. A proud moment for us and a boost for us in our seventies.

I'm another who finds comfort in that final paragraph of Middlemarch, my favourite book.
When I was young, maybe 22, I thought the ending was a bit weak. Now that I can see 80 coming up, with a fairly undistinguished life to look back on, I find it extraordinarily wise.
Most of us are part of an army of women like Dorothea, the heroine of Middlemarch.

So often I think I will respond to a poster on here, and get half way through and realise I don't really have anything worth saying. I've done loads in my life that was never expected of me, reached positions in employment that I could never have dreamed of, but now at 72 the greatest thing of all to me is my two daughters, sons in law and grandchildren. We are all still friends and doing okay. All that other stuff is largely irrelevant now.

Many, many years ago, in a moment of teenage angst whilst having a row with my Dad, I threw at him that I wantd to BE someone, not like him - what had he ever achieved?? d He hesitated for a moment and then replied quietly ' Well, I raised you'. Shut me up!!!!