Someone I loved, no longer here, had a habit of plodding on … through illness, when faced with adversity, during moments of despair.

Sometimes it was commendable, but often this unwavering stoicism was painful and frustrating to observe. Their stiff upper-lipedness was rarely necessary amongst those around them who were in fact longing to hear what they really thought and were feeling.

They were someone who could rarely seem to express their true feelings … apart from being able to express anger at a spouse, or unconditional love for a grandchild, all else seemed in the let’s soldier on and not mention it box.

I’m not sure that it’s healthy to keep your emotions hidden or to let them build up to frighteningly alarming proportions. And over the years I have developed my own self-awareness sufficiently (still working at it) to be able to find a way to say what’s on my mind, to tell someone when I’m unhappy, to never, ever be afraid to tell the wonderful people close to me how wonderful I think they are. “I love you” is a common phrase in my repertoire.

So on a day when I’m remembering my loved one, I send out a plea to all those who know I care and love for them: please, don’t ever be afraid to show your emotions and tell someone close to you that you care.

It’s an infinitely better expression of emotion than “plodding on.”