A strong sense of being loved and a hopefulness for their life ahead.
What would you like to leave your children?
Question
What would you like to be remembered for?
Death & what remains
Question
Who most deserves an apology from you, and why?
Failure & regret
Question
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Values & belief
Question
Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
Taste & recommendation
Question
What scares you about getting older?
Time & hindsight
Question
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Identity & self
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Verbatim recurring item in The Guardian Q&A; two publisher-hosted respondent pages establish institutional recurrence.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Good memories. When I’m gone, I want them to feel that they were always my No 1 priority.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 January 2026 source ↗
Others on this question
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Randy Pausch
Professor of computer science, human-computer interaction and design
Shortly after my terminal diagnosis, I knew that one of my biggest priorities was to create memories for my children. Chloe and Logan are both so young that it's likely they'll have no direct memories of me. Dylan is the oldest, and at 5 (turns 6 in December), his memories are likely to be fuzzy. Hence the engineering question: What would make for the sharpest, most visceral memory, esp. for a kid who loves animals? Answer: go for a Dolphin Swim!
Recorded
Pausch's own update page on his Carnegie Mellon faculty site, Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science, 4 September 2007
source ↗
A deep sense that they will be fine in the world without me.
Spirit of adventure and kindness.
More from Helen Skelton
View profile →As someone who made you think that anything’s possible. I did three marathons in a day once but walking the high-wire at Battersea Park station was the challenge I loved most because I had to master a skill.
To Gorka Márquez, who was my Strictly partner, for not winning the glitterball in 2022.
Jealousy. It’s the thief of joy.
My new year resolution is actually to read all the classics and I’m ashamed that I haven’t read everything by the Brontë sisters.
Losing my eyesight – I live for the view, and the sunset and the sunrise.
Chaotic, warm, northern.
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Cheryl Strayed, Billy Crudup, Pauline Black, Lucy Lawless, Ally McCoist, Seann Walsh
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