Healthy Hoopie Habits - Day 18: Call Your Parents (Live With Urgency)

This habit might sound too small to mention, but for me it is deeply rooted in my belief to live with urgency. Calling my parents is one of the most meaningful rhythms in my week. It’s not necessarily about only keeping in touch, but about living with the remembrance that time is fragile.

I live 14 hours away from my family. That means, in the best-case scenario, I get about two weeks a year with my parents. That’s less than 4% of the year — a startling number when you actually think about it. And for a long time, I didn’t.

When I first moved out, I wasn’t great at calling. It wasn’t intentional — I had just spent every day with them, so I didn’t yet feel the gap. I was younger, excited, maybe a little caught up in our own life as a newly married couple. But now, years out and many miles away, the gap is clear.

So, I call them. Not because it’s scheduled or written on a to-do list. Not because I’m trying to be the perfect daughter. But because I don’t want to miss the chance. They’re often quick check-ins — a few minutes here or there — just a simple “How was your day?” or “Just wanted to say hey.” And that’s enough. Because the rhythm of staying in touch keeps our relationship close, even when distance says otherwise.

The truth is, I’m incredibly grateful. I adore my parents more now than I ever have. The older I get, the more I realize how precious they are — how much they’ve poured into me, and how fragile time with them really is. I used to hear people say, “You’ll appreciate your parents more when you’re older.” And now I get it.

But this habit goes deeper than just calling home.

Every morning when I go out for my early walk, before the sun rises, I take a moment to pray and thank God for another day. And every single time, I follow it up with this thought: If I’m still here, it means there’s still work left for me to do.

That mindset — of living with urgency, of not wasting the day I’ve been given — is what fuels not just this habit, but my whole life. I don’t want to sleepwalk through life.

We don’t know how much time we have. None of us. And that’s not meant to sound morbid — it’s meant to light a fire. Because the moment we truly accept how fragile life is, we stop waiting for the “perfect time” to do what matters.

So maybe this habit, for you, isn’t about calling your parents. Maybe it’s texting your sibling. Maybe it’s sending a voice memo to an old friend. Maybe it’s finally signing up for that thing you’ve always wanted to do — training, writing, creating, whatever’s been tugging at your heart.

Whatever it is: don’t wait.

Pick up the phone.
Start the thing.
Have the conversation.
Take the step.
Live urgently.

Because you’re here.
And that means there’s still work left for you to do.