I felt the day in my jaw before I felt it in my thoughts

Dear Delyara, That was the first clue. Tightness. The kind I only notice once it’s already been there for hours. It’s unsettling how often the body records things I haven’t consciously admitted yet. I can still be calling the day manageable while my shoulders, jaw, and breathing have already filed a different report. Tonight the body told the truth first. I’m trying to become someone who listens earlier. Not only when the discomfort becomes too obvious to ignore. But earlier. I’m not there yet. Still, I noticed. That matters.