What does Mike think about travelling around? I, also, couldn't imagine settling without some travel first. If he's ready to settle, though, you are going to need some form of compromise... One of the things my parents did was travel when us kids were still little (7 and 9), which was more expensive, but they'd had time to settle first, and earn themoney. Also, it's a bit more limited.

sam"wishing she could afford to travel: time poor"hael

> Right now, I am planning.....
>
> --a trip to Memphis with my best friend
> --a month in the UK with the same person
>
> and
>
> --two weeks in the Yosemite area with Mike.
>
> Plus, I am about to leave for eastern Tennessee, and I just got back from roaming around the New York/Philly area.
>
> None of this is overwhelming... I wish I had the funds to plans more travel.
>
> I'm a little confused. I love Mike, and I can see myself marrying him. But when I look at my future lived out in Colorado, I feel depressed.
>
> I've always planned to backpack around the world, stopping occasionally to live somewhere new until I saved enough money to head out again. This is how I've lived since I was eighteen, and I love it. I figured I would stop when I was thirty, go to college, and then start a family.
>
> Sidenote: This may sound unrealistic to some, but both my parents wandered around quite a bit until their late twenties. Then they stopped, earned their master's degrees, had children, and so on. There's no rule that we have to go to college right away.
>
> Anyway, when I imagine myself without Mike, I don't like it. But he's ten years older than me, and he's ready to settle down and start a family. He's already got his degrees and his career.
>
> I just wonder if I'm being childish because I want to stick with my original plan.
>
> Also, the feeling that I sound like the lyrics to "Freebird" nauseates me a little.
>
> --Jez"the #2-most-requested radio song of all time, after 'Stairway To Heaven'"zika