TessaReneeI didn’t mean to stay. It wasn’t a plan or a promise or a quiet decision I made and forgot to announce. It happened slowly, the way things do when comfort sneaks in before clarity has a chance to speak up.
It started as presence. Moments that felt easy. Conversations that flowed without effort. Nothing heavy. Nothing serious. I knew what it was and what it wasn’t, but familiarity has a way of stretching time when you’re not watching closely.
I stayed longer than I intended because it felt simple, not because it felt aligned. There’s a difference. Simple doesn’t ask questions right away. It doesn’t demand decisions. It lets you exist without urgency, and sometimes that’s enough to blur the line between temporary and intentional.
At some point, I noticed the shift. The weight of expectation forming quietly. The sense that staying was starting to imply more than I had ever offered. That’s when I realized staying had stopped being neutral and started asking something of me I wasn’t willing to give.
I didn’t mean to stay, but I meant it when I left. Leaving wasn’t a reaction or a correction made too late. It was the moment I chose honesty over inertia. I didn’t want to turn comfort into confusion or presence into a promise I never intended to make.
I stayed long enough to learn what I needed to learn. I left before it turned into something misleading. Both things can be true.
Final Thought: Comfort Can Quiet Your Instincts
Pay attention when ease starts replacing alignment.
Self-Awareness Clause
This isn’t denial or revision. It’s accountability. I didn’t intend to stay, and once I recognized that, I chose to leave instead of letting something temporary turn into something unfair.
TessaRenee