You know this call. The school, the daycare, the babysitter. Someone sick, someone hurt, someone who needs you now. You were booked solid until 6, but twenty-three minutes of calls to find backup yielded nothing but excuses.

This episode documents the moment you stop waiting for rescue that was never coming. The moment you realize you're not the backup plan — you're the only plan. The sole functioning adult in an ecosystem of strategic helplessness.

This is exhausting. You're not imagining it.

Content Notice:
The exhaustion documented here is real. To protect all involved, details have been fictionalized, events composited, and circumstances altered beyond recognition. Some dialogue has been reconstructed.
This is not memoir. This is not confession. This is pattern recognition.
This is commentary on systemic patterns, not accounts of specific individuals or employers.
Any resemblance to your specific husband, boss, or situation means the pattern is working exactly as designed.
This content is for documentation purposes only. It is not therapy, not advice, not a solution.