It’s 8am. She opens her eyes. No noise of crying. She looks on her right and on her left. Both her kids are fast asleep. Wow. She thinks she has finally managed to wake up before the kids. Now she can start off the day the way she wants to. She will freshen up first without having to listen to continuous screams. She will then go make breakfast for herself, her husband and the kids before they wake up. She will not have to answer a million questions of her toddler while doing so. She will not struggle to open up the refrigerator due to the infant clinging onto her legs while whining. Maybe the kids sleep in today. After all she did not wake up with their cries. She woke up all by herself. Maybe then she will get a chance to take a shower in peace or even to read a few pages of her favourite book while having tea. This is going to be a nice day she thinks.

As soon as she pushes off the quilt from herself, she hears a cry. It’s a tiny cry of her infant. Okay, not so bad. Maybe she can just make her fall back to sleep again. She starts tapping on the baby’s back, just the way she likes, just the way that makes her fall back to sleep again. And yes she was right. Her eyes start to close again. She was actually sleepy, had just gotten disturbed. As soon as the baby is going to close her eyes completely, she hears another cry, this time a louder one. He toddler is up, and of course with her cry, her infant is up too. A typical day starts.

It’s okay. It’s not so bad. This was expected anyway. Who wants to have an elaborate breakfast when getting late for work anyway. She will just make her husband an omelette sandwich to take with him. He does like it. She quickly takes out two diapers and changes her kids. Then puts a lot of toys in front of them and sneaks to the kitchen. She breaks an egg and puts some spices in. But wait. Her infant is crawling towards her inside the kitchen. She picks her up to put her back in her room.  By the time she is back in the kitchen, the bowl with the egg and spices is on the floor. How would that not happen with a toddler in the house. Hmm. Never mind. Jam toast will do as breakfast in the office.

Her husband leaves. She has just a few chores to do the whole day. She needs to cook, do laundry in her automatic washing machine, fold clothes, put them back in the cupboards, bathe her kids, feed them, clean the mess inside the house. Seems like quite a list but not so much when you have the entire day to do all of it. First things first. Her kids are hungry and they need breakfast. She again attempts to go to the kitchen, puts eggs in a saucepan to get boiled, quickly keeps her own tea on the stove. She is lucky this time. No one interrupts her in the kitchen. She is able to make boiled eggs and tea. She sits on the mattress with her kids, sips her tea, feeds boiled eggs to both her kids. She starts playing with them with the toys, then reads them story books. She feels she needs to change her toddler, just then her infant starts crying the way she does when she suddenly feels sleepy. She thinks why is there always this coincidence that both the kids need her to cater to their needs at the exact same time. Do they do this on purpose?

It’s now 10.30am. Her infant is finally asleep. Her toddler is busy watching a video on her iPad. Seems like a good idea to put clothes in the machine and start cooking. She dumps the huge amount of clothes in the machine. Just when she is about to step outside the laundry area after putting in the detergent and switching the machine on, her toddler throws a tantrum. She is the one who wanted to put the clothes inside. She is the one who wanted to switch on the machine. How on earth did she realize that this is what I was doing in the other room while watching her favourite video? Anyway. It is time to settle her and calm her down. The machine doesn’t even have the option to pause in between so the toddler’s wish can’t get fulfilled in any case.

It’s 11.30am now. The toddler is finally calm and happy. After all the mother spent one hour just talking to her and playing with her. Finally she makes her to agree to make a tower with her blocks while she goes into the kitchen to make lunch. But oh no. She hears her infant crying. She is up after her long one hour nap.

It’s 1pm. Cut onions and tomatoes are waiting in the kitchen to get cooked along with spices all ready and mixed in the pan. The machine has stopped waiting for someone to start the spin option for it to dry the clothes a little. She isn’t doing anything. She is just sitting on the sofa looking at her kids. She can’t move. As soon as she tries to move, one of them, if not both, start screaming. They want her right there doing nothing. Very well. Why not bathe the kids first if she has to be with them anyway. One by one she bathes both of them with the other one crying at the top of her lungs outside the washroom door. It’s okay. This background noise is part of the routine now. It doesn’t even always give her a headache now. Lunch time. She had managed to make them a quick meal. She is happy about it. She feeds them and sips her third mug of tea of the day.

It’s 3pm. Time for afternoon nap for both the kids finally. She warms milk and gives to them. Both of them fall asleep within 30 minutes. Wow. She can do whatever she wants to now. She quickly goes into the kitchen, cooks. She picks up the toys, puts them on one side inside their boxes. She sets the washing machine on the spin option. She starts folding clothes but feels hungry. Both kids are still asleep. She is able to have lunch with a fourth mug of tea. Wow what a blessing. She is content.

It’s 4.30pm. Both the kids wake up. They want her to sit with them again doing nothing. She never understands why. Why do they want her to be so unproductive? She feels frustrated. The washed and dried clothes are still in the machine. Piles of clean clothes are still in front of her eyes ready to be folded. She wants to check her phone, you know, just randomly, not because there is something important. She wants to talk to people and have a social life. She wants to enjoy somehow. She feels stuck. She again can’t move. Just then randomly her toddler comes and hugs her. Okay well. This is not bad. At least she has people who love her around her.

It’s 6.30pm.  The situation hasn’t changed. She wants to do something, get up, but she can’t. She gives her kids some snacks and has them as well. It is a good time, a happy time. The kids are enjoying. Her infant is sleepy again. She puts her to sleep while telling a story to her toddler.

It’s 8pm. Her husband comes back home. He is tired. He has had a hectic day. She lets him freshen up and then serves dinner for the entire family. They eat and try to talk about their day. But of course they can’t. There is too much interruption by the kids. Never mind. Who wants to talk after a long day? They just eat and put away the food and plates quickly.

It’s 10pm. Her toddler finally falls asleep. But the infant keeps crying and disturbing the toddler. So she brings her to the other room. She plays with her until she is finally asleep too an hour later. She takes out her phone and replies to messages from people. She scrolls down through social media. She enjoys. But she wishes to have a real social life instead of just having it through her phone. Clothes are still in the machine, dried clothes are still unfolded right in front of her eyes.  But she should sleep. These things can wait till tomorrow. Just when her eyes start to close, her infant is up again. She feeds her again.

It’s 12 midnight. She knows she has to keep waking up every hour or so for her infant so better not delay sleeping now.

Sleep. Repeat.