Lines in the sand

Jake’s making pancakes and I’m sitting here on the living room floor, journal open, thinking about Friday’s mess with Alex at the rec center.

Lines in the sand

The whole thing keeps replaying in my head - not because I’m second-guessing myself, but because I’m actually kind of proud of how I handled it.

It wasn’t easy calling him out in front of the team when he kept pushing Michelle past her limits during the group session. Old me might have pulled him aside later, tried to smooth things over privately. But watching Michelle’s face when he kept barking “push harder” at someone clearly struggling? That crossed a line I didn’t even know I had.

Processing through writing, as usual.

The weirdest part is how calm I felt afterward. Like something clicked into place about what leadership actually means - it’s not about keeping everyone happy or avoiding conflict. Sometimes it’s about being the person willing to say “no, that’s not okay” when it matters. Alex barely spoke to me the rest of the shift, but Michelle thanked me later. That’s the trade-off, I guess.

Jake keeps saying he’s impressed by how I’ve grown into this role, and honestly? So am I. Two years ago I would have stressed for weeks about that kind of confrontation. Now I’m just grateful I found my voice when someone needed me to use it.