Okay so like, this is probably gonna sound dumb, but I just… I need to say it. And it’s not even like, a HUGE thing, not really. Compared to what other people go through, I know this is small potatoes. But I just can't, you know? Like, my phone has been ringing for the past, what, hour? And it's Mom. And I just... I can't pick it up. And I feel like a total jerk, obviously. She’s my mom. She probably just wants to chat, or tell me about Mrs. Henderson’s cat, or ask if I remembered to defrost the chicken for dinner. You know, regular mom stuff. But the thought of even hearing her voice right now? It just makes me want to crawl under my desk and never come out. Which is ridiculous, I know. I’m like, 50. I should be able to handle a phone call. It was this stupid group project, that’s what it was. We’ve got this big presentation coming up for the Q3 review, and someone — not me, thank GOD — dropped the ball BIG time on the data analysis. Like, completely forgot to run the numbers on a whole segment. So we had to have this emergency meeting this afternoon. And it was just… UGH. You know how it is. You get like, five people in a room, all with their own ideas, and two of them are just plain stubborn. And then there’s the one who thinks they’re the CEO already and tries to boss everyone around. And me, I’m just trying to get through the day, hit my metrics, maybe get a decent performance review for once. But NO. Suddenly I’m the referee. For four hours. FOUR HOURS. It started with Mark being all passive-aggressive about Sarah’s "oversight." Which, yeah, she messed up, but he didn’t have to keep bringing up how "critical" his work was compared to hers. And Sarah, bless her heart, she just gets flustered and starts backtracking and trying to explain every single step she took, which just makes it worse. And then Greg, Mr. I-Know-Everything, jumps in with his "optimal solutions" that nobody asked for. It was just a complete train wreck, you know? And I just kept trying to smooth things over. "Okay, let’s focus on moving forward," I said. "What can we salvage here?" "Maybe we can re-prioritize this section, Sarah, it’s not the end of the world." "Mark, can we just get the new data points first, then discuss who’s doing what?" My voice was getting hoarse, honestly. I felt like I was back in grade school, trying to break up a fight in the sandbox. Except these are grown adults, making six figures. It’s insane. By the time we finally, FINALLY, got some kind of plan together, I was completely drained. Like someone had literally siphoned all the energy out of my brain. I just wanted to go home, sit in silence, and maybe stare at a wall for an hour. No TV, no music, just… nothing. My head was buzzing from all the talking and the tension. I even had to stay late to write up the action items because nobody else would commit to it. So I got home, kicked off my shoes, and just flopped onto the couch. And then the phone started ringing. And ringing. And it’s my mom. And I know she means well, she always does. But I just can’t. Not tonight. I can’t hear about the neighbor’s new hedge, or what she watched on the news, or whether I remembered to pick up that specific brand of organic milk she likes. I can’t offer advice about her new smart TV. I just… can’t. I feel really bad about it, honestly. She’s probably worried. Or maybe she just wants to complain about something. My sister usually calls her, but my sister's on vacation. So it’s usually me. And I do it, usually. But right now, after that whole office thing… I just don’t have it in me. My battery is at zero. And I just know if I answer, I’ll snap at her or something, and then I’ll feel even worse. So here I am, letting it ring, pretending I'm not here. And it's like, really making me feel like a bad person. But I just can’t force myself to do it. Not tonight.