Facing the reality of mortality

Yesterday I wrote about my friend, Gary, who recently passed away at age 66--my age. Last night I learned that a close friend of my mother, Bessie Lambert, age 96 +/-, is in a Bellingham hospital days away from completing her life's journey. These and other recent events have given me pause to consider things of a weightier nature:
--I want to be more diligent in my daily physical exercising so I can stick around as long as I can
--I want to be slower to anger, quicker to love
--I want to spread peace not contention
--I want to learn more about the great gift of repentance and do it more and better
--I want to get better at quick forgiveness when I get my feelings hurt
--I want to let others know that I love and appreciate them--especially Melba, my children, grandchildren, mother, siblings and friends
--I want to take offense less and give others the benefit of the doubt more
--I want to strive daily to live up to the children's song "I'm trying to be like Jesus"
--I want to remind myself every day what the purpose of life is: "...there [is] a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God..." (Alma 12:24)