Say It Now

A few years ago I learned the hard way that death can knock on anyone’s door at any time. All of a sudden, the platitudes of “if this person were about to die tomorrow what would you want to tell them?” felt very realistic rather than hypothetical. I try to live by this wisdom now as much as I can, especially in the case of someone leaving my life. Sure, we may have our disagreements and differences that lead to a falling out, but even in the heat of the moment I imagine the wild scenario of them (or even myself) getting run over by a train tomorrow. Every time, I think about what a shame it would be if I did not let them know how I really feel about them, along with all that I am grateful for. I’ve found that the slight awkwardness of saying it now always supersedes the potential risk of a lifetime’s worth of regret.