After a long or frustrating day, I often find myself reaching for my phone. Not to doom scroll through Instagram Reels or TikTok, but to call my mom to vent.

Then I remember: I can’t.

My mom passed away almost seven years ago when I was just 14 years old. Not a day goes by that I don’t wish I could pick up the phone to talk to her.

Like many others, I did not have a perfect relationship with my mom. We had our moments where we argued or yelled at each other, but no matter what I would say to my mom in the midst of my teenage angst, she never let me go to bed without telling me she loved me.

Looking back, there are certainly things I wish I could go back in time and never say. More than that, however, are the things I wish I could say now, because I’m sure nothing would make me happier than hearing her voice again.

It is not just my personal emotions that make me feel that talking to my mom again would instantly make my day better, though.

In a 2010 study published in Scientific American, a group of 7- to 12-year-old girls was tasked with completing a stressful task, such as math and public speaking in front of strangers. The group was then split into three subgroups: those who spoke to their mom in person, those who spoke to her by phone and those who did not speak to her at all.

Saliva samples were then collected to measure cortisol levels, a stress hormone. It was found that girls who spoke to their mom, either by phone or in person, had much lower cortisol levels than those who had not spoken to their mom at all.

So, it isn’t just your feelings that make it seem like talking to your mom can relieve your stress — _­­­ it’s science. Unfortunately, I never realized just how much I took talking to my mom for granted.

I understand that I was fortunate enough to have a healthy relationship with my mom, and that not everyone has that same experience. That said, I’d encourage you, if you can, to try to patch that relationship, because you might one day want to, and it might be too late.

I’m reminded of the words Cody Johnson sings in his song “’Til You Can’t,” which I often find myself listening to on days I wish I could talk to my mom one last time.

“So take that phone call from your momma and just talk away / ‘Cause you’ll never know how bad you wanna ’til you can’t someday.”

You should make the phone call, because it’s someday, and I realize now just how bad I want to.

Nathan Inman is a junior sports communication major from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Nathan can be reached at [email protected].