Emergency protocols and pad thai

Michelle’s text came in at 9:47 PM: “Elena - emergency situation. Can I come over?” My brain immediately went to worst-case scenarios involving her half-marathon training or some kind of injury. Twenty minutes later she’s standing at my door with bags of Thai food and that sheepish smile that means the emergency is more emotional than physical.

Emergency protocols and pad thai

Turns out the crisis was her boss scheduling a mandatory weekend training session right when she’d finally planned her first real vacation in two years. Not exactly life-threatening, but when you’re already running on four hours of sleep from back-to-back shifts, everything feels like the end of the world. We spread the takeout across my coffee table and she vented about hospital politics while I attempted to master chopsticks with questionable success.

Turns out my chopstick skills need work

Sometimes being someone’s trainer means listening to more than just their fitness goals. Michelle needed permission to be frustrated about something that wasn’t technically a big deal, and honestly? After three months of working together, I’m honored she thought to call me instead of just stewing about it alone.

The pad thai was excellent. My chopstick technique remains a work in progress.