Ohhhhh sorry, didn't mean to offend anybody. It is a weird phrase isn't it. For me it means much as lph says. The "alternative" is something that will happen eventually and in the meantime I think great conversations, like this thread are invaluable. I will always remember by FIL saying to my DH that he thought my DH was getting to old for that crazy stuff - riding his bike! and he had just turned 50. You can all imagine my DH's response to that