🌧️ The Rinse Is Enough
🌧️ The Rinse Is Enough
Some mornings, I just rinse off with hot water. No soap. No washcloth. No full-body scrubdown. Just water and breath and enough stillness to remind myself: I’m here. I did something. I’m still trying.
Growing up, my mom would tell me, “If you’re in there with the water on, you might as well use soap and a washcloth.” But what she didn’t understand — what so many people still don’t understand — is that for someone like me, autistic and often overwhelmed, that “might as well” comes with a cost.
Soap isn’t just soap. It’s texture, scent, pressure, decisions. It’s executive function and sensory load. It’s one more step when I already feel like I’m drowning in steps.
There are days when just turning on the water is a triumph. Rinsing off is not “giving up.” It’s choosing a path I can actually walk. It’s something. And something is always better than nothing.
The rinse helps regulate my body. The hot water soothes my skin and muscles. It breaks the inertia and proves I’m not stuck — I’m just pacing myself.
💧 The rinse is enough.
🛁 You are enough.
🫶 And any act of care, no matter how small, still matters.
Not every battle has to end in a victory parade. Sometimes, surviving is the victory.
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