My teeth are grinding so fucking hard i'm going to crack a molar. All those texts i didn't ask for. All those 'emergencies' that are just someone else's laziness. I'm not a goddamn on-call service. I am a person. And my phone died, and for five fucking minutes, the world didn't end. But now it's back on, and the red numbers are climbing, and i'm supposed to apologize for existing again. The guilt arrives fastest, doesn't it? Before the anger even has a chance to form, there's that reflexive, 'Maybe I SHOULD be more available,' which is just code for, 'Maybe I'm not good enough.' Remembering that boundaries are kindness, not cruelty, is a daily practice, like flossing.