I answered my need before I had a convincing excuse

Dear Delyara, Usually I wait until the need becomes dramatic enough to justify itself — visible exhaustion, obvious emotional roughness, some outward sign that now makes care seem reasonable. This week I answered myself before that point. I rested because I was running low. Not because I had collapsed. I chose the softer option because I needed it. Not because I had fully earned it by the standards of the harsher voice in me. That feels like a very real kind of self-love. And I’m proud it happened.