I forgot my own appointment and remembered everyone else’s

Dear Delyara, I had remembered the school trip money, my son’s reading book, the milk, the dog food, the email for work, and the fact that my daughter needed trainers today instead of shoes. Then at four in the afternoon, while standing at the sink, I suddenly remembered that I had completely missed my own appointment. No one else even knew it had existed. That somehow made it worse. Because this is what self-neglect looks like in my life. Not dramatic collapse. Quiet disappearance. I become the organiser of everyone else’s visible needs and then act surprised when my own less noisy needs fall through the gaps. I rebooked it. Still, I felt ashamed in a way the moment didn’t deserve.