This last year and all of the craziness that went with it was hard. It was also wonderful and amazing. But, shit did get crazy hard. Being under constant attack by someone who is hellbent on making your life miserable for absolutely no logical reason will take its toll.  I endured it without any response to them. Not one reaction to them about all of the messed up flustercluckery they rained down. It was surprisingly hard.

The reason I say surprisingly is that I generally don’t stand up for myself. I will smile and take copious amounts of verbal excrement without responding in kind. Then I will take a deep breath and try to let it all go. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

But, tonight I didn’t do that.

Tonight I had someone pop up out of the blue raging about some nonsense that I had zero to do with. Normally I would apologize, even though I had nothing to do with what happened. Instead, I let them know I had no idea what they were talking about and wished them a good night.  They then brought up some drama and began to spin a tale in which I should somehow be indebted to them. Indebted to them for things they didn’t even do. I didn’t smile and nod.

I did take a deep breath.  

Then I corrected them.  I called them on everything, gently but firmly. I wished them well but made it quite clear that I was in no way indebted to them for anything.  I sent them away with hugs and hopes for happiness.

And then they really lost their damned mind.

Which I could care less about. It felt REALLY good to get it out.  It felt REALLY good to say “nope, I do not think that means what you think that means.”  It felt REALLY good to not let them bathe me in undue guilt.

It felt REALLY good to truly stand up for me and still be all Namaste.

In the last year of craziness, I learned a thing.  

 A really good thing.