Anyone else ever feel like a prisoner in their own life? Not in a dramatic, movie way, but just… trapped by expectation. By necessity, even. I spent forty years making sure everyone else was alright. My kids, my wife, my parents. Always me, always the one holding the line. And I did it. I kept them fed, kept a roof over our heads, kept the bills paid, even when it meant working three jobs. Construction is honest work, hard work, and I did it without complaint. I took pride in it. But it wore you down. It grinds you down to nothing, day after day, year after year. And then there was my youngest. He never really found his footing. Not for lack of trying, I guess, but it just never clicked for him. Always between jobs, always needing a bit of help, a place to stay for a while. Twenty years. Twenty years of me worrying, of me bailing him out, of me covering for him, of me feeling that knot in my gut every time the phone rang after 9 PM. Always something. Always another crisis, another reason he couldn’t make it work. And I helped. Every single time. Because what else are you supposed to do? He’s your son. You love him. You pick him up, dust him off, give him a leg up. Over and over and over. He finally moved out for good last month. Got a job out of state, actually stuck with it. Paid his first month’s rent on his own, sent me a picture of his new apartment. And I felt it. Not joy, not exactly. More like… a quiet hum. Like a machine that’s been running on overload for decades finally being allowed to just… idle. A weight just… lifted. And it was a good feeling. A really good feeling. A feeling of… peace. And then the guilt hit. Am I a terrible person for that? For feeling lighter now that he’s gone? For not having that constant dread in the pit of my stomach? For not having to worry about him anymore? Am I the only one who feels this way? Like you spent your whole damn life being the strong one, the responsible one, and when that burden finally, FINALLY, eases up a bit, you’re not even allowed to enjoy it? God, I’m tired. So damn tired.