Researchers say half of the babies born today will live to be 100 years old.

Astounding.

Don't feel bad if you missed the headline. Good news runs out of oxygen in about 24 hours.

As the father of two boys, ages 2 and 7, I can't stop thinking about this study.

A report by Danish researchers, published in The Lancet journal earlier this month, said that about 50 percent of the children born in wealthy countries since 2000 will live to be centenarians.

Let's suppose, for the sake of argument, that the researchers are on the mark. Do we treat our children differently if we expect them to live to be 100?

For me, a 51-year-old father of a toddler and a second-grader, this study is bittersweet.

On one hand, everyone -- including me -- wants their children to live long and prosper. (Insert the Vulcan salute here.) The idea of my sons living into the 22nd century is both thrilling and fascinating.

On the other hand, it makes me uneasy to think my boys might outlive me by 80 years or more, reducing me to a small memory in the long arc of their lives.

When he is 90 years old, I wonder, will my toddler remember cuddling with me on the couch to watch Barney the dinosaur?

Will my 7-year-old remember our good-night talks when he confides to me his deepest problems? At the moment, he is anguished about his inability to count past 15 in Spanish.

Lately, I've noticed my older son becoming concerned about my age. I could see the worry in his eyes when I mentioned last weekend that I was too old to get the H1N1 flu vaccine. His worry would turn to panic, I think, if I ever have a true health emergency.

I've decided the best I can do is to instill in both of my boys a sense of bold-hearted optimism. Worry is a family heirloom that I don't want to pass down.

Forcing myself to look on the brighter side of things, I've pushed the clock forward a few years. My dream scenario involves retiring while I still have good health and being able to focus on helping my two young men navigate their teens and 20s.

At a time when most of their friends' fathers will be in full-throttle career mode, I might have the luxury of being more available to my boys. If they trust me, I'll have a lifetime of experiences ready to share.

That's it, then. My new motto is this: "20th-century tools for 22nd-century minds."

After all, even a space man can use a good pocket knife.