I wanted to say “I can’t” without defending it

Dear Delyara, That sentence still feels loaded in me. I can’t. Not tonight. Not well. Not without cost. Not with the version of energy I have left. And still, saying it rarely feels simple. I want to defend it, justify it, soften it, explain it, make it reasonable enough that no one can accuse me of weakness or selfishness or overreaction. I’m tired of how much permission I still think I need around limitation. Tonight I’m trying to practice a smaller, cleaner truth: I can’t. That is enough.