When Mom on Night Shift

More about When Mom on Night Shift

A highly detailed watercolor painting of a sad child with dark curly hair looking out a rainy window from an inside perspective, with a black crow perched on an outdoor window ledge facing the child. The child has a light complexion with big, dark brown eyes and a small mouth.

This is not loneliness.
This is waiting with manners.

She is too young to name the ache,
so it settles behind her eyes instead.
Not crying. Not asking.
Just listening for a sound that hasn’t come yet.

The bird is not a symbol of darkness.
It is a stand-in.
Something alive that stays when adults must leave.
Something small that understands night work,
cold windows,
and the discipline of silence.

The rain marks time better than clocks.
Each drip is a promise that keeps going
even when no one is there to tuck it in.

She is safe. But she does not feel held.
That is the quiet truth of many childhood nights.

And yet,
there is no fear here.
Only patience shaped like a child.