I went to bed when I was tired instead of waiting to become useful one last time

Dear Delyara, There is always one more thing I could do. That is the trap. One more email, one more tidy, one more load of washing, one more reply, one more little domestic correction that would make tomorrow smoother. I am so used to measuring goodness in extra effort that sleep often gets whatever version of me is left after usefulness has finished feeding on the evening. Last night I did something different. I was tired, so I went upstairs. I left the last mug. I left the lunchbox lids for morning. I left one basket of clean washing untouched. And the world kept standing. I think self-love sometimes looks exactly like that — not squeezing another ten percent out of yourself simply because nobody stopped you.