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An 80-year Harvard study seems to agree.
By Neeramitra Reddy — Written on May 07, 2023
Mothers are wild.
One wrestled a black bear to save her daughter, another leaped from a second-floor inferno clutching her baby!
My mother’s the reigning champ, though.
Single-handedly, she raised us two little cubs in a new city — navigating an unfamiliar language, fending off predatory men, and avoiding bad company.
How she stayed sane in those early years is beyond me.
Such is the power of a mother’s love — drives her to tear down mountains for her kids.
The least she deserves is a daily hug — if not a thousand.
This scary math will make you re-evaluate things.
Drowning in "important" Zoom calls and "urgent" deadlines, we’ve forgotten what’s actually essential and urgent.
The woman who bore you for 9 months. The care that nursed you for 9 years. The love that’s as unconditional as humanly possible.
The gift that keeps on giving.
This "gift" needn’t be your biological mother — it can be a foster mom, a kindly aunt, or your beaming toothless grandma.
We might have decades ahead — but our parents and grandparents don’t.
"You probably never thought about this, but around 90% of the time that you will have spent with your parents was done from the ages of 0–18."
Let that sink in.
A 2-minute math calculation shocked me even further:
- My grandma is 64, diabetic, and a cancer survivor.
- God bless her, but if I’m being brutally realistic, she has 7–10 years left.
- We see her 3 to 4 times a year.
- So I’ll only see her another 20 to 40 times.
Typing this is a breath-stealing gut punch.
Disrupting my writing flow, I got off my chair to steal a glimpse — she was here for the weekend.
I’m fortunate my mother stays with me — and as I work from home, I see her blessed face almost all day.
Not as fortunate?
Do your best — call, Facetime, visit during holidays, send letters, and plan family trips.
Time’s running out.
An 80-year Harvard study’s #1 factor for lasting joy:
For 80+ years, Harvard’s Grant and Glueck study tracked the lives of 700+ men.
They were on a quest to discover the elusive secret to the elixir of joy.
The number one factor they zoned in on was anti-climactic.
Not roaring Lambos. Not sprawling villas. Not exuberant yacht parties. Not Forbes 30 under 30.
Not even “Following your passion.”
It’s genuine human relationships — family, true friends, and romantic partners.
"At the end of your life, you’ll never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You’ll regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, a parent."
Money’s cool. Fame’s cool. Success’s cool.
Having loved ones to share them with is way cooler.
What deeper human connection’s possible than with the woman who’s given you birth?
The umbilical cord’s gone, but the invisible cord of love is unbreakable.
Hug your mother.
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Neeramitra Reddy is a writer and editor of In Fitness And In Health, Wholistique, and MANXIMIZE.
This article was originally published at Medium. Reprinted with permission from the author.