I sat on the bottom stair for two quiet minutes

Dear Delyara, The kitchen was too bright, the children were too loud, and I could feel my own tone becoming sharper with every ordinary sound around me. So I sat on the bottom stair with my back against the wall and let the house continue without me for a moment. I wasn’t being dramatic. I was trying not to become unfair. That’s one of the things I know about myself now. If I wait too long to step out of the noise, the noise comes into my voice. The children don’t deserve that version of me. My husband doesn’t either. So some evenings the most loving thing I can do is briefly remove myself before my own overstimulation starts sounding like everyone else’s fault. The stair was hard and not especially comfortable. It still felt like mercy.