Two Tireds

Two Tireds

By Andrea Tadpole-Broussard 

October 19, 2026

Sometimes when its something good that I work on and I'm tired after, its a good tired. Its the kind of tired that I feel like I accomplished something. 

Then there's a soul crushing tired. Being tired from things I had to do that weren't really mine to do. Its a heavy, completely draining tired. That's what I've been doing for too long. I hope it ends soon.

I'm tired of being the one that is always cleaning up someone else's mess. I'm tired of being unappreciated for all I do. Its like I am repository or an ATM for certain people in my life who drive through and cash me out literally and figuratively any time they need or want to. When they do, they leave all this negative energy on me. Its not mine and I never should have allowed the exchange in the first place. I only allowed it out of love for them. But, I forgot one important thing: I must always love myself first. I cannot keep dispensing cash from an empty ATM. I replenish my cash when I love myself first.

I want this exchange to end in my life. I know it will soon because I am choosing to love myself more and more each day. But, the dismantling of it is what hurts so bad. It has been a tough lesson to learn.

I don't know if this makes sense to anyone else, but it does to me.

Times they are a-changing. Some things change quickly and some slowly. Yet, everything changes eventually, whether we want it to or not.

So, I hope and pray that my future tired times are the good kind. The kind where I can see what I've accomplished and I'm not left sucked dry and alone.