Time has never been so glaringly present as it is now that I’m a mother. It flies by and it stretches on. 

From the moment she was born, our two timelines trail alongside each other, one who’s days are an eternity, and the other, who can’t seem to find a minute to brush her own hair. Under the breakfast table tiny hands clutch figurines and orchestrate complex adventures, all in the time that it takes for the kettle to boil for a cup of tea that ultimately will not be drunk.

Since she was born, I play back my own childhood, and I see my own mother anew. I can now see her as the young woman that she actually was then. And now, I watch her, as the grandma that she is… an astronaut exploring a place in time that I cannot yet fully understand.

Since she was born, I think about the day that I will die, and I hope that in that moment, all of the moments in between will come flooding back to me one last time.

This piece is a part of the 2026 International Women's Day Exhibition 'Her Voice: Stories of Strength & Identity'.