I left my ex six years ago. I've been in my house for 4 years and a few months.

Just now I was reheating a cup of tea and realized that I was hunched over, elbows tight against my ribs, tense.

It's taken me this long to realize that the microwave in my own house is positioned exactly like the one in my former house, kitty-corner, and I was standing the same way I always used to and felt the same as I always used to -- trapped and so very small.

Dang these trigger moments.