I’m at the cinema. The lights are still on, commercials are rolling one after another, and I’m smiling while snacking on popcorn that, honestly, somehow tastes better in this setting. I’m waiting for the movie Wedding to start, but even this brief calm before it starts already tells me I’m exactly where I need to be. I’m thinking about how long it’s been since I set aside time just for myself. It seems that sometimes all it takes is 1 hour and 37 minutes to bring things back into balance. To let cortisol drop a little, while dopamine and serotonin remind us that they deserve a place in everyday life too. Happiness hormones, as we commonly call them, but also a small reminder that self-care is sometimes simpler than we think.

If you’re a mother of two small children - aged one and four - then you know that going to the cinema is basically a lottery, and the famous work-life balance is a serious Olympic discipline. Not the kind where you compete against others, but the kind where every morning you break your own records. Without a medal, but with thunderous applause inside your own head (if you manage to hear it). And if this sounds exaggerated, just type ’working mum of two’ into TikTok and check the current trend. The algorithm recognized me a long time ago and, I have to admit, sometimes those short, hilariously realistic scenes comfort me more than motivational quotes ever could.

I often think about healthy habits, workouts, balance, and all those things we like to put on the list of ’I’ll do it when I have more time.’ At this stage of life, in the traditional sense, they may truly seem impossible. But if we name them a little differently, we realize they are very much present. For example, a morning strength workout: lifting 30 kilograms. More precisely, 18 + 12 kg. Two children, each with their own moods, dreams, and needs. They get lifted, carried, hugged, and put down again. Cardio? Morning cardio. Dress one child, dress the other, dress yourself. Fast walking to kindergarten, carrying bags, backpacks, and thoughts already organizing the rest of the day. Mental training? Remembering birthdays, activities, spare diapers, the favorite toy that absolutely cannot stay at home, and all the little ’details’ that actually make up someone’s entire world.

And when all the morning activities are finally done - activities into which someone else’s entire workweek could easily fit - it’s only 9 a.m. And just when you think: now I’ll finally relax. But no, the day is only beginning. It’s time for work. Meetings, planning, emails, ideas, deadlines. The focus changes, but the energy stays the same. It’s simply distributed differently. Somewhere in that overlap between private and professional life, I realize how much organization, flexibility, and team spirit are actually skills I practice every single day. Both at home and at work. Which is why that cinema visit, those 1 hour and 37 minutes, were not just about going to see a movie. They were a small pause, taken consciously. A reminder that I don’t always have to move at full speed to get where I want to be.