I can relate to so much of this, Sondra. I have moments when I wonder what will happen to me once my parents are gone and I am wandering the world completely alone - at least without direct family connections (I am an only child.) But I am also resolute in my decision to not have kids and I know my life would look very different if I did - no matter what people seem to think about traveling with kids.....it changes things, it just does. Anyways, I don't think too much about the future, I just live in the moment and enjoy every day as much as I can. That is all we are guaranteed, after all. Thanks for this thought-provoking and interesting article. I have just discovered this publication and I'm thinking it's high time I started writing about this issue myself.