Shame

“I ate the leftover pasta standing over the sink again and I don't know why I can't just sit down like a normal person.”

“My son said I was embarrassing him in front of his friends and I keep turning it over in my head even though he's been asleep for hours.”

“I spent $200 I don't have on things I convinced myself were necessities and now I can't sleep.”

“I nodded along in the meeting like I understood what they were talking about and I still don't know what half those acronyms mean.”

“She remembered my birthday and I forgot hers last month and I've been overcompensating in small ways ever since without saying anything.”

“I woke up in the middle of the night and my first thought was about something I said to someone in 2017.”

“I ate lunch alone again today and kept my headphones in so it would look intentional.”

“I told the story about my childhood like it was funny and everyone laughed and then I went quiet for the rest of the night.”

“I drove to the party, sat outside for five minutes, and went home, and I didn't tell anyone.”

“I haven't told anyone how bad it got last winter because I don't want it to be the thing they think of when they look at me.”

“I think about calling an old friend I hurt years ago and then I don't, and I've been doing that for long enough that it's become its own kind of answer.”