THE FUSE

One of the hardest things Margo ever did was admit that she wanted a separate bedroom, apart from her husband. It was a truth that had been percolating inside her for a decade, but it took that long for her to be able to share it with her partner and make it happen. The reality was that she needed space where she could be alone, with no one else’s needs present, and where she didn’t have to absorb anyone else’s anxiety, unhappiness, or stress. The role she’d played for years, as a mom who kept everyone in the house happy and regulated—all of it had worn her down to the point of being emotionally ragged and desperate for quiet and her own attention.