Amanda herself admits to having charted the paths of life, saying: “Is this the future we have charted for ourselves? » (Williams The Glass, p. 1661, scene II), suggesting that she has an alternative plan. While planning ahead is worth it for kids, these two are adults. There is only so much of the future to plan for. Now mature, Laura and Tom have their own personalities and way of life, and Amanda, despite her best efforts, cannot change them, as the conclusion of the play shows. Amanda is so focused on this glorious future of success that she imagines, that she fails to see the signs that nothing will change in the present. It is ironic, and a victory for Laura and Tom, that her future turns into disaster and her children get what they expected. Tom left, just as Amanda feared, to have his own future to design, and Laura failed to impress a suitor, which leaves her exactly where she started, alone (Williams, The Glass). If Amanda had paid more attention to the present, she could have better predicted what would actually happen.