I was talking to my sister the other day about whether I should take the day off on the one-year anniversary of losing my mom. I kept going back and forth – “What if I’m fine? What if I cancel my appointments for nothing?”
Then it hit me: why not just give myself the space to feel whatever I feel? No need to justify it. No need to “prove” I need it. Just take the time.
It felt SO weird. SO unfamiliar.
Like, really? I can just take the day off without an emotional breakdown as the reason? What if I don’t fall apart – then what?
Well, then I can just enjoy it. No guilt. No self-created emotional roller coaster to justify it.
When I shared this with my sister, she asked, “And you know who cares that you’re taking the time off?”
Curious (and, okay, maybe hoping for a little gossip), I asked, “Who?”
She deadpanned: “NO ONE.”
I cracked up. And felt grateful for both the lesson and the perfect exclamation point she put at the end of it all.