Say Thank You Before it Is Too Late

The brilliant Scottish writer, Thomas Carlyle, lived on a farm in Dumfriesshire, which he called “the loneliest nook in Britain.” Each day he climbed a ladder to his attic, where he worked until dark. His devoted wife Jane was left alone. One evening at dinner, Jane asked why he had never expressed appreciation for the food she lovingly prepared for him. “Woman,” Carlyle barked, “must you be paid for everything you do?” With that, he stamped off to his attic workshop. Years later, when his wife died, Carlyle found her diary. On tear-stained pages, he read this recurring refrain, “Oh, I wish you would say a kind word or give me a compliment now and then about the things I try to do to make you happy.”