I have begun to think about my legacy. Brooke Astor just died at 105, and if I live as long as she did (a dubious goal) I’ll have 40 more years, but not all of those years would be productive ones.
My children are a big part of my legacy, and I also would be gratified if I left a published book or two behind (that project is going quite well,, but a little more patience is required). Imagine being gratified that lumps of bound paper exist on a number of bookshelves, the story in these lumps informing a number of lives. No “Ann Anderson Evans Wing” of a great hospital, or an “Evans Chair” of writing at a university, just a book, at least one.
Our life duties are made up by us as we go along, and one of my self-declared duties has always been to establish a happy partnership with a man. This goal has eluded me, mostly because of my own ignorance and weakness. As I live my life, and write about it, I observe that perhaps half of the marriages and partnerships I have known were, and are, harmonious and mutually beneficial. So many are obstacles to growth and happiness, instead of being sources of new energy and support. Many are neutral.
It gives me a great sense of satisfaction to claim place in a partnership which is a truly loving one. It does not rob me of energy, but rather primes my intellectual and emotional furnaces. I feel relief and great satisfaction that this has come to me, and that I have had the wisdom and strength to claim it. I have added another chapter to my legacy.
Personal. Professional. Partnership. What else is there? Nothing comes to mind at the moment.