Enough.

My parents are famous for their "looks." I don't mean how attractive they are (but let's get real, aren't they?). I mean those looks. The "Don't make me turn this car around," or even "So help me God, if you don't stop doing XYZ, you will not live to see tomorrow." A bit overdramatic, but when I was losing my mind via temper tantrum, these key phrases usually got me to sit down and shut up. 

More than any other assembly of fighting words, there was one word - just one - that stopped me in my tracks. Maybe it was the sideways glance and the dagger eyes that accompanied the one devil word, but I knew that when I heard it, it was time to stop blubbering:

"Enough."

Growing up, getting into and out of relationships, jumping from job to job through college, there has been too many instances when I tolerated too much. When I would call my mom crying every day, when I would come home with a pit in my stomach - when I kept telling myself "it'll get better, it'll get better" - I should have just whipped around and said, "You know what? Enough." 

As I get older, I'm getting better at it. I'm learning to stand up for myself, and more importantly, when to stand up for myself. I'm figuring out when I need to bite the bullet and fake a smile, swallow my pride and move on. More often than not, I take the high road. But sometimes, I think taking the high road is letting the world, or even just one person, know that it's not okay. I think the higher road is letting someone know when you've just had enough. XO