I nearly cried because the wrapping paper ran out

Dear Delyara, The present was half-covered, the tape had stuck to itself twice, and when the paper stopped just before the final corner I had that ridiculous hot pressure behind my eyes that says this is not about wrapping paper at all. It was for a school friend’s birthday. Not even a major event. Just one more small social duty folded into a weekday evening already carrying too much. That’s why it hit so hard. I didn’t have any spare patience for obstacles that small. I found another roll eventually and finished it badly. The child receiving it will not care. But I carried the emotional aftermath of that stupid paper shortage far longer than I should have. Sometimes tiny domestic setbacks land on a body that is already one inconvenience away from grief.