Get busy living, or get busy dying.

Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption

It’s hard to believe this modern classic turns 21 this year, but there you go. It’s full of wise words, but this one line offers a simple but universal message. Every day of our lives takes us a day closer to the final reckoning, so why put off until tomorrow what we can do today?

I’m now at an age where most people I know have lost loved ones: grandparents, parents, spouses and siblings, in some cases even children. It makes you think. You just never know when the Grim Reaper will come a-knocking.

Without getting all morbid, one day – hopefully in the distant future – my children will have to say goodbye to their dad. When I do eventually shuffle off this mortal coil, I hope I’ve lived a full life without regrets and given my kids memories and experiences that will inspire them to do the same.

I’d better get on with building that flat-pack furniture, then …