If there's one thing that I've noticed, especially lately, it's that life is incredibly fleeting. With all of the sources of tragedy out there, someone can be gone in the blink of an eye.
Often, when someone leaves us, one of our biggest regrets is that we didn't get to let them know how much we loved them. However, when it comes to who we still have, we never learn, never change.
The problem is how often we take the people around us for granted. We go through our whole lives interacting with people certain that they will always be there when we want them to be. But unfortunately, the fact of the matter is they won't always be there.
It doesn't even have to be a tragedy that takes people away from us. Anything from different life plans to a lack of feeling appreciated can push someone away from us as well. No matter how much time has passed between interactions, letting someone know you care can do wonders for them.
It only takes a few seconds out of your day to make sure someone feels valued. Something as simple as a "hey, how are you doing" check up text can make someone feel cared about and turn their whole day around. You may not realize it at the time, but simply letting someone know you care may be a huge help to them, even if it doesn't solve their original problem.
With the busy hustle and bustle of life and other stressors, it can become easy to forget how much other people care about us. Small little reminders can turn your entire day around, even if you haven't forgotten; it's always nice to hear someone cares.
I know that being sappy can have a negative connotation. We don't want to tell our friends we love them because the second we do that one too many times, we can feel clingy and overbearing.
This has never stopped me. Sure, sometimes I have to tone it down a little bit, but I always tell the people that are important to me I love them; usually at least 5 times a week.
Whether it's a direct "love you" or just a simple, "hey thanks for doing that you're the best" I never let too much time pass without passing along appreciation for those who do so much for me.
It may seem excessive, but it's something I've believed in since I was a little girl. Every single end of a phone call or "goodnight", always brought with it an "I love you" to my family. It was like an impulse I couldn't pass up.
Sometimes this seemed silly to me; I knew that they would be there the next morning, or later after the call. But each time I had that thought, I reminded myself you never actually know. This carried on well throughout college, and with the passing of my grandmother, I'm glad it was a trait I have always kept. There are a lot of things I regret about losing my grandmother, but at least I know for certain she always knew how much I loved her, and vice versa.
My point is, you never know when it's going to be too late to appreciate what you have. Why wait until you have to regret losing the chance? Life happens, and along the way I'm sure your loved ones could use to hear you care at one point or another. You may not always know they do, but even if they don't in that moment, with all of the hate that gets spread on a daily basis, who does it really hurt to spread appreciation?