“Spend a little time off this campus. There’s a whole world outside these grounds.” She held up a finger to stop his argument, “the point is that you’re not so easily accessible to them. People can do things for themselves.”

“I hear you,” he acknowledged.

“But you’re not going to listen, are you?” She stood up. Light was the kiss that touched his forehead before she said, “I won’t lecture anymore right now. Just do your best to treat yourself the way you treat others. I still love you!”

“I love you too,” his smile brought wrinkles to the corners of his eyes. It was easy to say this now that romance was off the list of expectations.

#DefinitelynotDisappointed #SelinaElliot

Author’s Notes: Often I find myself burning out because I’m trying to be everything to everybody. I want to do the best job that I can, take on as much responsibility as I can, and help out the best that I can. Then I do the same with family and friends. Yet rarely do I ask for help. And I’m only learning to start to ask for time.
But the truth is that I’m not everything to everybody, and I can’t be. There are also limitations that I face. I thought by now that I’d have learned how to cope after having a stroke. Sadly, new symptoms are cropping up that may or may not have anything to do with the stroke. What I know is that my head hurts all the time, I need a lot of sleep, I need quiet and dark, and I need to cut myself a break. I need to tell myself that I’m not failing just because I need to slow down. I haven’t yet figured out how to tell myself that.
Selina