Who knows why it’s so hard, even in the closest relationships to say what needs to be said before it’s too late? -Karl Pillemer, The Legacy Project

When  The Legacy Project interviewed 1,500 older people near the end of their lives, most grateful with those who would manage to say what they needed to be said while they were still young, and while there still time even if it was just a simple “thank you,” or “I love you.”

One of the legacy respondent, Ruth Helm, tragically lost her college–age daughter in a plane crash and spoke for all the other respondents when she said, “One thing we always do it, whenever we would get off the phone we always said, ‘I love you.’ And I was so happy that we did that because when I said goodbye to my daughter, the last words that I said to her were ‘I love you.’”

“For some regrets,” continued Ruth, “there are possibilities for do overs and second chances. Leaving critical things unsaid or an asked, however… Can’t be changed after the person is gone. If you have something to say to someone say it now.”

Think of people you will contact, speak to, or thank… Now instead of later.