When does mom find the time?

To clean the house: load the dirty dishes into the dishwasher, fold the laundry, and pick up toys from the floor,

to take things off her mental load from making sure there’s more peanut butter in the pantry, packing lunches, getting bills paid to scheduling everyone's doctor's appointments,

to sit down and not have someone climbing on top of her and plopping down on her lap,

to lose herself in social media: Memes, Reels, all of it. Because sometimes she needs to unwind and see what’s happening outside her small world,

to scroll through the thousands of photos on her phone and tear up at how much her babies have grown,

to spend time with her partner eating dinner together and commiserating about the day because adulting is hard…

She finds it at night.

Because when a mom tucks reluctant children into bed, her day is just beginning.

It’s where she gets everything done with no fighting and, "Mommy, look!" distracting her.

And there’s a magic in those quiet hours, whether they happen before the sunrise at 5 am or late at night after 11 pm.

They’re the reason mom has tired eyes and complains about not getting enough sleep even when the kids sleep through the night.

But they’re also the reason mom is able to keep going with a full heart.

This time’s important for her mental well-being,

to pursue a career or passion,

have an intimate conversation with a friend,

and time to recharge to Netflix.

Because the truth is,

this quiet time fuels her in a way that sleep can’t.

This post originally appeared on the author's Facebook. Her book "Living FULL: Winning My Battle with Eating Disorder" is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2O4mJId