I nearly left the wet towels until morning and felt guilty for even thinking it

Dear Delyara, It was past ten, I was tired, and the towels were still in a heap where the children had left them after showers. I looked at them and had that immediate internal argument — leave them, no, do them now, no, leave them, you’re tired, yes, but then they’ll smell, but maybe that’s okay, no, it isn’t, just get on with it. What exhausts me is not only the task. It is how quickly every small domestic decision becomes moral in my head. Not “Do I have energy?” but “What kind of woman leaves wet towels overnight?” In the end I hung them up. Then I resented that the debate had taken more out of me than the towels did. There must be a softer way to be responsible than this constant private prosecution.