My mother died on 25 May, quite suddenly but not unexpectedly. This is not the place to eulogise her, but she touched many lives with her deep empathy and wisdom.At her vigil the night before her funeral, I read a passage from the last page of my book:“I remember what my mother said at the party for her 80^th birthday. She has done a reasonable job raising 6 children. It's probably not fair to hold her responsible for my brother John who drinks my birthday present before he gives it to me – every bloody year. She is a mentor to a number of her nieces and nephews. She is, in the eyes of her many friends and family, a Wise Woman. She's not someone who has sought the limelight – her husband and her 6 noisy children were always hogging that, so there was never any room. So here she was, in the limelight at last, and I was really interested in what her reflection on her life might be. She said something like this:

When I think about how I've lived and what I say when people ask for my advice, I suppose it just comes down to this: get on with it. Whether you've been through a trial or you've been through a triumph, you've just got to get on with it. Whether you've got to finish something or start something new, you have to get on with it. Whatever it is you've chosen to do or whatever has been chosen for you, you've just got to get on with it.”

And that’s how she lived.A couple of questions come up for me:

• What will I say at my 80^th – and am I living my own advice?
• What should I be getting on with right now?

If you’d like to read more in my book, you can buy a copy here.