When Friday Breaks

I started the day the way I do every Friday. Dream catchers on. Essential oil from an artisan in Kauai dabbed at my wrists, the scent I use to remind myself that every day can feel like a vacation if I begin with the right intention. Comfortable shoes on my feet, not because I love them, I miss high heels, but these days I dress for survival, not style.

My phone started ringing before I even got to the parking lot. Emergencies. Crises. New interpretations of old rules that were fine yesterday and suddenly not fine today. The day moved like a bullet train with no brakes. A meeting became a Zoom became a Teams call became an email became a text, and somewhere in the middle of it I was supposed to make clear, efficient decisions.

All of it supersonic, speeding on a wooden roller rink with worn edges on the final curve, my sense of urgency shifted into overdrive, pedaling a twelve speed bike down a Himalayan slope, post haste, no pause button, just co-workers holding each other up, vulnerable enough to admit out loud that we were barely hanging on. By the time I got home, my back ached like I'd benched my own body weight.

I remind myself what Terri taught me. Every relationship has give and take. But I choose to be here. I choose this frenetic pace, because underneath the frenzy is a reason I still believe in.

It was the kind of week where I forgot to pay my bills. Not because the money wasn't there. Because I didn't spend one single minute thinking about my own needs. My work friends and I are the ones who put the fun in dysfunctional, and most days we wear it well. We laugh, we survive, we call it normal. But some days it feels like the Winkies are circling, and I wonder if it's time to take off my green tinted glasses and look at what's actually in front of me instead of what I've trained myself to see.

Some days the jaws of life are prying you apart, and you just hang on.

And then I remember my why. I am privileged to help people walk into healthcare careers that change the entire trajectory of their lives. That's not a small thing. That's everything.

My cup filled back up.

Are you creating? ✦