I took the pain seriously

Dear Delyara, Normally I bargain. I wait. I tell myself it’s not bad enough, not clear enough, not constant enough, not worth the fuss yet. Then later I end up angry at myself for letting the body get louder than it had to. This week I didn’t do that. I called. I checked. I listened while the pain was still speaking quietly. There is a type of maturity I want more of now — not stoicism, not endurance, but earlier respect for what my body is already trying to tell me.