i don’t think people realize how exhausting it is to keep going when you’re barely holding yourself together. i’m 26, separated from the man i still love, trying to save a marriage i don’t want to lose, while living in an extended-stay hotel with my three little kids after losing our home. i’m trying to be a good mom, figure out finances, work, rebuild my life, and make sure my babies still feel safe and loved while everything around me feels uncertain. i’m not innocent in everything that’s happened. i’ve made mistakes, hurt someone i love, and i’m genuinely trying to grow and do better. but i’m hurting too. we’re still talking, so there’s still hope, and somehow that makes the uncertainty even harder. i miss my family, my home, feeling loved, and having someone to lean on. i’m tired of being strong because i feel like i have no other choice. i don’t want pity. i just wish someone would remind me that it’s okay not to have everything figured out.