the world is overpopulated...

splitting up is rough. it's the emotional recoil that kills you, the shock of stepping off the path of a conventional lifestyle and losing all the embracing comforts that keep so many people on that track forever. to create a family with a partner is one of the most fundamental ways a person can find continuity and meaning in society. if you ever go to a family reunion, look around and notice how everyone is held so reassuringly in their positions over the years. first you're a child, then a teenager, then a young married person, then a parent, then you're retired, then a grandparent - at every stage you know who you are, what your duty is, and where to sit at the reunion. you sit with the other children, teenagers, or young parents, or retirees. until, at last, you are sitting with the other 90-year-olds in the shade, watching over your progeny with satisfaction. who are you? no problem - you're the person who created all this. the satisfaction of this knowledge is immediate, and moreover, it's universally recognized. how many people have i heard claim their children as the greatest accomplishment and comfort of their lives? it's the thing they can always lean on during a metaphysical crisis, or a moment of doubt about their relevancy - if i have done nothing else in this life, then at least i have raised my children well. but what if, either by choice or reluctant necessity, you end up not participating in this comforting cycle of family and continuity? what if you step out? where do you sit at the reunion? how do you mark time's passage without the fear that you've just frittered away your time on earth without being relevant? you'll need to find another purpose, another measure by which to judge whether or not you have been a successful human being. i do love babies, but what if i don't have one? what kind of person does that make me?