Whim of the trivial

The author begins by saying that before he was born, he lived with his parents (of course) and ends his story 86 years later with an evanescent farewell.  In the interval: a life of no importance. So why tell it? For lack of a better answer, he adduces mysterious voices in the second part of Goethe's Faust: We immer streben sich bemüthn                                 Der können wir elössen   The triviality of the story is redeemed thanks to a slight seasoning of humour, and philosophy in the style of Petrarch:                                Si vedrem chiaro poi como sovente                                 Per le cose dubbiose altri s’avanza                                   E come spesso inarno si sospira