The timer starts.
Pink line forming…
Life as they know it
Geared for a somersault.

High-pitched cries and fiddly press-studs,
Feeding, spew and midnight fury.
Days blur into one,
Long night.

Walking, talking
Yelling, screaming.
Hours filled with lunacy, laundry.

Uniform ready,
A glance at her watch
Weeping mothers line the gate.

Clock is ticking
Time’s a-running
He is safe yet she is falling.
Gradual, pounding terror.

The kid is alright
But the mother is flailing.

She fell in love.

Then he broke her heart. In growth chart inches.