Day in the life of a hero

She stares in the mirror, mustering every bit of her courage and strength to take on the day.

Wiping away the beginnings of a tear, she breathes in deeply.

It’s been a long week- no, make that a long year for her.

She halfheartedly laughed.

“It’s been a long forever,” she said with the faint semblance of a smile.

This was one of the days she just didn’t know how she was going to make it through.

She’d been up most of the night, tossing and turning..and thinking.

It was always the endless waves of thoughts that kept her awake that made her soul weary.

Instead of waking up refreshed from the few hours of sleep she’d often get, she just woke up worried..

About what she had to get done, the details of her tasks or whatever else her mind could jam into that space in her head.

The easier days were becoming fewer and less frequent and the obstacles life threw at her were getting bigger and harder to overcome.

Just once, she wished, she wanted to tackle a day with all the answers.

“Or at least some of them..”

Wistfully, she fixed her hair as she dug deep to put on the brave face that she gave the world..

You know the one- where everyone thinks you’re okay, but deep down..

“You’re just hanging on by a thread.”

She grimaced as her mind raced forward to what her day had in store for her.

Her closest friends knew her struggles and were there for her as much as they could be, but she knew that when it came down to it, she was the one who had to figure out a way to get it done.

People would often say they admired her resolve and strong facade and she’d smile and make a joke about it..

Because they didn’t know.

They had no idea the fire that she walked through every day just to survive.

They had no idea what it took for her to keep going when all she wanted to do was quit.

They had no idea how she just wanted to stay in bed and hide from the world some days..

But she couldn’t.

There were people that depended on her to show up and step up every day, so that’s what she did..

Without hesitation , without question.

She was so many things for so many people..when she just wanted to be at peace.

Sometimes, there’s a sort of weary that sleep can’t fix, and that’s where she was.

She needed her heart and soul to have time to recover from the wounds of her past..

The broken hearts, the damaging pain.. the forgotten promises.

She tried never to ask too much of anyone, because she’d learned the hard way that those expectations only ever led her to disappointment..

And she’d been let down enough in her life already- she didn’t know if she could handle any more.

From the moment she step foot into the world until she was finally able to catch her breath late at night, there was always something to do, a task to be handled , a problem to solve..

And it could be overwhelming.

Truthfully, she couldn’t tell you how she managed to do all the things she did, only that she amazed herself sometimes.

She looked in the mirror one last time, wiping away smudges from the edges of her lipstick.

“Perfect..”

She chuckled quietly.

“Or at least as close as I’ll ever get to perfect in this life.”

She smiled, exhaled and put on her brave face.

It was just one of those moments..

In the life of a warrior woman-

Amazing, strong and brave.

Because that’s just who she is and would always be.

And every day, in every way, she always finds a way to get it all done, somehow.

Just another day in the life of a hero.