The word “goodbye” got shortened over centuries until it fit in a hurry. Don’t let your actual goodbyes get rushed too.

Language wears down under convenience, and a full blessing has become something you say with a hand already on the door. The habit is harmless for most partings and costly for the few that matter, because a real ending deserves more than the shortest available form. Nobody regrets taking the extra minute. Plenty of people regret the quick version.

If somebody is leaving this year, a friend moving away, a teacher, a grandparent you see rarely, say the longer thing while you can. Tell them what they did for you, specifically. Those thirty seconds are the part you keep.