A friend of my mom's came down with cancer when I was very young, and he had decided that my brother and I were his sons (he had had three daughters and had always wanted a son).

Just before he died, he called us into his hospital room and on his deathbed, told us to always listen to our mom. I remember everything about that moment... the smell of the room, the beep of the monitor, the sound of his voice. It was very intense and it made a big impact on me.

If I passed on while in the hospital, I would probably end with just a simple, "I love you" or a variation on that. Hopefully by the time that happens, I'll have had time to come up with something more poetic. Maybe I'd record my farewell message as a video, so the kids would have something to remember me by.

What would your last words be?