My name is Bethany Romano—Instagram-worthy wife, mother, and daughter. But I'm calling it quits on putting everyone else first, and there will be no two weeks’ notice.

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I'm seventeen years into my marriage, and what can I show for it? A too-handsome-for-my-own-good husband (who has forgotten that I exist) and four beautiful children (who are all too happy to cast me as their personal maid). Now, my midlife crisis is being served with a side of tarot cards and gemstones, and I'm manifesting some serious main character energy.

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Enter: The Quit List

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1. I, Bethany Romano, will QUIT expecting perfection from myself. Perfectionism is a toxic construct—exacerbated by social media—that leads to people-pleasing, stress, anxiety, and other unhealthy behaviors. I will drop it like the bad habit it is.

2. I will QUIT always putting myself last. I’m a mother, not a martyr. I’m allowed to have needs, and I’m allowed to meet those needs.

3. I will QUIT doing things for other people that they can do for themselves. My time and energy are just as important as theirs, and I will act accordingly.

4. I will QUIT doubting myself. I am a strong, smart, sexy, magical bitch, and I will NOT forget it.

5. I will QUIT depending solely on my husband, Andrew Romano, to feel sexually validated. I, Bethany Romano, a grown-ass woman, will sexually validate myself.

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What I didn’t see coming? Drew’s reaction. Because the feistier I get, the more my husband doubles down on this marriage. He seems to like this bolder, more demanding version of me, and the harder he fights for us, the more I dare to hope that falling out of love might just be a chance to fall back in again.​​​