That’s my favorite line in “The Shawshank Redemption.”

All of us start the road to death from the day we are born. If you’re lucky, you get 80 years to figure things out. But that’s not guaranteed for any of us.

During the past four or five years, we’ve had a lot of death. Most recently it was my 95-year-old uncle, but previous deaths ranged from age 21 to almost 100. Plus a dog too young to die to an unborn baby. I can’t cry about the 90-somethings. If they lived a good life, I celebrate them and wish them a hearty bon voyage. If they were unhappy, I feel sorry that they could not enjoy the precious time they had. That’s all we have – time. The here and the now. We all need to embrace it.

I’m reposting a link from Maria Shriver’s blog from a writer who worked with dying people. She interviewed them to find out what their biggest regrets were now that they were facing the end. What do you think the biggest five regrets are from people on their death bed? Do you agree with the comments in this article? Would you add to these list of regrets?

http://www.mariashriver.com/blog/2011/12/top-five-regrets-dying

The main reason I made the decision to retire this year rather than wait a few years when I’m 62 and in a better financial situation was exactly to “get busy livin’.” I don’t want any regrets. Well, I have some from the first 57 years (just a few), but I hope to have less from now on.