“It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” The late great Yogi Berra, the New York Yankee catcher and philosopher famous for stating the obvious with flair, knew that prognostication is a murky business. Nephrologists have to make predictions and decide how to prepare for the future for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who may or may not reach end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in their lifetime. In some cases, we feel comfortable reassuring patients about the stability of their kidney function; for others, we sense trouble ahead and plan for ESRD.