--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had achieved the most important things…" description: "\"I had achieved the most important things in my life when I married Joan and had the sons. Given the choice between Joan and the boys, and being a write..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/robert-b-parker-2608_blink_i-had-achieved-the-most-important-things_38579.jpg" --- # I had achieved the most important things in my life when I… ![“I had achieved the most important things in my life when I married Joan and had the sons. Given the choice between Joan and the boys, and being a writer, I world give up being a writer without a blink.” quote by Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/robert-b-parker-2608_blink_i-had-achieved-the-most-important-things_38579.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/robert-b-parker-2608_blink_i-had-achieved-the-most-important-things_38579.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53b/robert-b-parker-2608_blink_i-had-achieved-the-most-important-things_38579.jpg) > “I had achieved the most important things in my life when I married Joan and had the sons. Given the choice between Joan and the boys, and being a writer, I world give up being a writer without a blink.” [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker values family over career, seeing marriage and children as the ultimate fulfillment, even if it means abandoning his writing ambitions. **In simple terms:** Family outweighs professional ambition. Key Takeaway Prioritize relationships over work. Themes family personal fulfillment sacrifice identity values Mood nostalgic reflective Type personal anecdote philosophical statement When to use this quote - deciding between work and family - reflecting on life priorities - evaluating success metrics Key Concepts love parenthood career choice Practical Applications - guidance for work‑life balance counseling - inspirational content for family‑centric audiences Questions to Reflect On - What would you sacrifice for love? - How do you define success beyond career? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achieved Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achieved-important-448866/) [Blink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blink/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Boys Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys-writer-448868/) [Choice Joan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice-joan-448865/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Important things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-things/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Married](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-married-448867/) [Married](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/married/) [Married Joan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/married-joan-448864/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The writer is a definite human phenomenon. He is almost a type - as pugilists are a type. He may be a bad writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-hecht/the-writer-is-a-definite-human-phenomenon-he-is-almost-a-type-as/) [Ben Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-hecht/) > [In the end, it is the person you become, not the things you have achieved, that is the most important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-brown/in-the-end-it-is-the-person-you-become-not-the-things-you-have/) [Les Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-brown/) > [In my career I have achieved important titles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-silva/in-my-career-i-have-achieved-important-titles/) [Marco Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-silva/) > [We know that we have achieved something important for the club and for Villarreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-pellegrini/we-know-that-we-have-achieved-something-important-for-the-club-and/) [Manuel Pellegrini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-pellegrini/) > [“You expect me to marry him." "Yes,of course," Finn said, almost wearily. "You're not even gonna try to..." I swallowed back tears and looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/you-expect-me-to-marry-him-yes-of-course-finn-said-almost-wearily-you/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [When Hillel died, it was during one of the happiest times of my life. I was married and completely in love and had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flea/when-hillel-died-it-was-during-one-of-the-happiest-times-of-my-life-i/) [Flea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flea/) > [Marriage is an Athenic weaving together of families, of two souls with their individual fates and destinies, of time and eternity - everyday life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/marriage-is-an-athenic-weaving-together-of-families-of-two-souls-with/) [Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/) > [“Our Mary Rose,” he said, and kissed her head, as if he were bidding her a fond farewell. She laughed. There could be worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/our-mary-rose-he-said-and-kissed-her-head-as-if-he-were-bidding-her-a/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [As a Greek woman, the most important thing you can do in life is get married and have children. You could win the Nobel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-smyles/as-a-greek-woman-the-most-important-thing-you-can-do-in-life-is-get/) [Iris Smyles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-smyles/) > [The point of life is not to be married or single - it is to be. We are human beings, or humans being. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/the-point-of-life-is-not-to-be-married-or-single-it-is-to-be-we-are/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [All I wanted was a little piece of life, to be married, to have children… I was trying my damnedest to lead a conventional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/all-i-wanted-was-a-little-piece-of-life-to-be-married-to-have/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“I knew that, in my whole life, if I married Aspen or someone else, no one would ever make me feel this way. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiera-cass/i-knew-that-in-my-whole-life-if-i-married-aspen-or-someone-else-no/) [Kiera Cass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiera-cass/) > [In the 1970s, I identified as a lesbian and wrote about it. In 1991, I met the love of my life, married him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chirlane-mccray/in-the-1970s-i-identified-as-a-lesbian-and-wrote-about-it-in-1991-i/) [Chirlane McCray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chirlane-mccray/) > [Simple, you should stop and I told you who I do it for and I'm not goin anywhere cause me and life is married…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-grae/simple-you-should-stop-and-i-told-you-who-i-do-it-for-and-i-m-not/) [Jean Grae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-grae/) > [True love is when you can see the love of your life married with someone else and having a life of their own, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/true-love-is-when-you-can-see-the-love-of-your-life-married-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Robert B. Parker > [“I always loved it when I had a story to tell her, because her attention was complete and felt like sunlight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/i-always-loved-it-when-i-had-a-story-to-tell-her-because-her/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [Writer's block? I've never heard of a plumber complain about plumber's block.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/writer-s-block-i-ve-never-heard-of-a-plumber-complain-about-plumber-s/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [Joan organizes our social life, and on weekends I follow her around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/joan-organizes-our-social-life-and-on-weekends-i-follow-her-around/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [“Sandy’s face was very close to mine in the crowded room. She had a wide mouth and a lot of teeth. She had turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/sandy-s-face-was-very-close-to-mine-in-the-crowded-room-she-had-a/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [“And Quirk’s a captain now,” he said. “Captain Quirk?” The motorcycle cop grinned. “Captain Quirk,” he said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/and-quirk-s-a-captain-now-he-said-captain-quirk-the-motorcycle-cop/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [Both our opinions are rooted in our experience," I said. "Both of them are true, it's just that we've had different experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/both-our-opinions-are-rooted-in-our-experience-i-said-both-of-them/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [“I think you’ve never quite altogether forgiven yourself for that woman in Los Angeles all that time ago.” “Candy Sloan,” I said. Susan nodded.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/i-think-you-ve-never-quite-altogether-forgiven-yourself-for-that/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [If you want to write, write it. That's the first rule. And send it in, and send it in to someone who can publish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/if-you-want-to-write-write-it-that-s-the-first-rule-and-send-it-in/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [“Susan had decided to sit by the pool at the hotel with a copy of a book by Alice Miller called The Drama of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/susan-had-decided-to-sit-by-the-pool-at-the-hotel-with-a-copy-of-a/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [“called Evan Malone at the number Epstein had given me and got his wife, and made an appointment to come up to his place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/called-evan-malone-at-the-number-epstein-had-given-me-and-got-his/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [I have reached the point where I know that as long as I sit down to write, the ideas will come. What they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/i-have-reached-the-point-where-i-know-that-as-long-as-i-sit-down-to/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [“Can you analyze our relationship in the light of Silvermanian pragmatism?” I said. “I love you because I find it compelling to be loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/can-you-analyze-our-relationship-in-the-light-of-silvermanian/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [“Pearl eyed a man and woman walking by in funny hats. Her whole body stiffened with the desire to bark at them. Mine too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/pearl-eyed-a-man-and-woman-walking-by-in-funny-hats-her-whole-body/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [“I’m sleeping with a Harvard grad,” I said. “The Emory of the North,” Becker said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/i-m-sleeping-with-a-harvard-grad-i-said-the-emory-of-the-north-becker/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [My older son who is, I think, here tonight, is forty-one years old. Which is odd because so am I.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/my-older-son-who-is-i-think-here-tonight-is-forty-one-years-old-which/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) [Explore all 151 Robert B. Parker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) ## More Blink quotes > [I thought that the world was a vast system of signs, a conversation between giant beings. My actions, the cricket's saw, the star's blink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/i-thought-that-the-world-was-a-vast-system-of-signs-a-conversation/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [...nothing wonderful lasted forever. Joy was as fleeting as a shooting star that crossed the evening sky, ready to blink out at any moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/nothing-wonderful-lasted-forever-joy-was-as-fleeting-as-a-shooting/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“Nothing is ever truly set by fate. In one blink, everything changes. Even though it should be a clear, sunny day, the softest whisper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/nothing-is-ever-truly-set-by-fate-in-one-blink-everything-changes/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Gauguin flew into a frenzy! He held my head under the X-ray machine for ten straight minutes and for several hours after I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/gauguin-flew-into-a-frenzy-he-held-my-head-under-the-x-ray-machine/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [It's American Alternative radio stations that bug me. We're considered Alternative, but don't expect us to be played next to Blink 182 and Offspring.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurston-moore/it-s-american-alternative-radio-stations-that-bug-me-we-re-considered/) [Thurston Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurston-moore/) > [One thing that I think never goes out of style is just purity. Niceness and purity. And the Muppets have never lost that. Kermit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-segel/one-thing-that-i-think-never-goes-out-of-style-is-just-purity/) [Jason Segel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-segel/) > [“The stars blink like a hairnet that was dropped / on a seat and now it is lying in the alley behind / the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/the-stars-blink-like-a-hairnet-that-was-dropped-on-a-seat-and-now-it/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [Every cliche about kids is true; they grow up so quickly, you blink and they're gone, and you have to spend the time with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/every-cliche-about-kids-is-true-they-grow-up-so-quickly-you-blink-and/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Why women don't blink during foreplay... not enough time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/why-women-don-t-blink-during-foreplay-not-enough-time/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [When I write about "realizations," I am describing a state in which a practitioner has wisdom of who she or he is, and has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-targ/when-i-write-about-realizations-i-am-describing-a-state-in-which-a/) [Russell Targ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-targ/) > [You know, the smallest thing can change a life. In the blink of an eye, something happens by chance - and when you least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/you-know-the-smallest-thing-can-change-a-life-in-the-blink-of-an-eye/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [Blink and you miss a sprint. The 10,000 meters is lap after lap of waiting. Theatrically, the mile is just the right length: beginning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-coe/blink-and-you-miss-a-sprint-the-10-000-meters-is-lap-after-lap-of/) [Sebastian Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-coe/) > [“Every moment—every blink—is composed of a series of discrete moving parts, and every one of those parts offers an opportunity for intervention, for reform,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/every-moment-every-blink-is-composed-of-a-series-of-discrete-moving/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“Every time I so much as blink you get an erection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/every-time-i-so-much-as-blink-you-get-an-erection/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [So take my advice: whatever you do? Don’t blink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/so-take-my-advice-whatever-you-do-don-t-blink/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) [Browse all 396 Blink quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blink/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had achieved the most important things in my life when I married Joan and had the sons. Given the choice between Joan and the boys, and being a writer, I world give up being a writer without a blink.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert B. 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