Something happened.

The dishes are washed and glistening clean, the children are fed, bathed and gleaming with the shimmer of coconut oil, their chocolate brown skin glimmered as they slept. The floors shined with a sparkle as a result of back breaking effort. The mother untucks her hopes, dreams and desires and turns them over slowly in hands that are tired and withered from hot soap suds and harsh cleaning agents.

“One day, I’ll get to this”, she whispers to herself.

There’s a stir and she finds herself holding her breath, prepared to rock a tired baby back to sleep. The stirring stops, she lets out a slow exhale as she wraps all that she holds dear to herself back into a small square, withered and frail. She tucks these hopes, dreams and desires back into the far corner of her mind.

Across town, another woman sits upright sipping on a glass of Merlot. It’s been a long work week and her most recent workout with her trainer has left her physically exhausted. She looks around her most cherished space, the lush green plants throughout her apartment left her feeling at ease and whole. She was making a mental list of her plans for the upcoming weekend. The buzz of her cellphone brings attention to a text she was expecting but hoping above all hope wouldn’t come. She was needed again. This time it wasn’t just money being requested but her time as well.

She slowly responds to the text with an, “Ok, I will be there in the morning”.

She examines her weekend plans before tucking it all the way back in the farthest corners of her mind. She pours herself a second glass of wine as she stares off into the distance.