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bluechromis, I've got one for you... one of those long-term pictures from my head about how my life will go. From studying financial planning I've always known the scary numbers about how much longer women live than men, and how (combined with the fact that men are usually ~5 years older than the women they marry) most women spend some time as widows. So, I've always assumed I would be a widow someday. And actually, my mental pictures of those years are happy ones. I know I would miss my husband terribly for a while (and if HLM were to die now it would be the tragedy of my lifetime, so don't go assuming I want to rush this scenario on its way), but I've always liked the idea of having that time to just do my own thing at the end of my life... live my own way, do what seems important to me and not be taking care of so many other living beings. I envision living somewhere small and rather beautiful, and perhaps writing a lot.
I know this is sort of optimistic, since all kinds of things can conspire to keep people from enjoying their old age, but it's definitely a picture in my head. So there you go. It seems easier somehow to imagine old age than middle age, since (for one thing) I don't have to bother imagining things like what I'll do for a living, and whether my or HLM's parents will still be alive. As far as sort of near term, I still have an incredibly hard time picturing anything more than 3 years in the future.
bluechromis, I've got one for you... one of those long-term pictures from my head about how my life will go. From studying financial planning I've always known the scary numbers about how much longer women live than men, and how (combined with the fact that men are usually ~5 years older than the women they marry) most women spend some time as widows. So, I've always assumed I would be a widow someday. And actually, my mental pictures of those years are happy ones. I know I would miss my husband terribly for a while (and if HLM were to die now it would be the tragedy of my lifetime, so don't go assuming I want to rush this scenario on its way), but I've always liked the idea of having that time to just do my own thing at the end of my life... live my own way, do what seems important to me and not be taking care of so many other living beings. I envision living somewhere small and rather beautiful, and perhaps writing a lot. I know this is sort of optimistic, since all kinds of things can conspire to keep people from enjoying their old age, but it's definitely a picture in my head. So there you go. It seems easier somehow to imagine old age than middle age, since (for one thing) I don't have to bother imagining things like what I'll do for a living, and whether my or HLM's parents will still be alive. As far as sort of near term, I still have an incredibly hard time picturing anything more than 3 years in the future.
