My friend’s father has owned a shoe repair shop as long as I have known him (30+ years).  He was always so nice to us kids when we were growing up, that it didn’t surprise me to learn that he would bring coffee every morning to the owner of the gun store next to his shop.

On Friday, he stopped by the gun store with coffee and interrupted a robbery in progress.  One of the two robbers pushed my friend’s 85-year-old father to the ground, fracturing his skull.  He was pulled off life support today and his soul is in heaven.

Whenever someone in my life passes away, it reminds me to quit taking life for granted.  I love early retirement planning, but it’s important to balance planning for the future with living today. None of us knows when our time will be up.

Rather than read multiple finance blogs tonight, I think I am going to spend a little more time playing “Batman” with my son, daughter, and wife.