From Functional to Feral by 8:30pm

Let’s talk about the absolute identity theft that occurs every single night around 8:30pm!

Because the person I am at 2:00pm? She is a LIAR!

Daytime Me is hopeful. Ambitious. Slightly delusional in the best way. She believes in fresh starts, routines, and the power of a good planner. She genuinely thinks (and believes) things like:

·       “I’ll just knock a few things out after dinner.”

·       “I’ll respond to messages after the kids go to bed.”

·       “I’ll totally have energy for that.”

Daytime Me means well. But she has no authority to speak on behalf of Nighttime Me! Because Nighttime Me did not agree to any of Daytime Me’s delusions!!

Nighttime Me shows up somewhere between bedtime negotiations and brushing my teeth. She is tired in her bones. She is wearing the same hoodie she wore yesterday. She has entered what I lovingly call… low-battery feral mode.

Nighttime Me:

·       Is overstimulated by noises that didn’t bother her 12 hours ago

·       Is emotionally attached to snacks

·       Cannot locate her patience and is no longer interested in finding it.

She stares into the fridge like it owes her money!

Here’s the shift that no one prepares you for:

The tolerance level completely falls off the cliff.

By 8:30pm:

·       One more question feels hella aggressive.

·       One more decision feels completely illegal.

·       And one more “can you just…” is the ultimate act of violence.

And suddenly you’re left thinking, “Why am I like this?”

You’re like this because you are exhausted, Susan! (Susan is the imaginary voice of guilt. And she’s annoying.)

This isn’t about being dramatic.

This is what happens when:

·       You’ve been needed by everyone for everything, all day!

·       You’ve made a thousand micro-decisions, most before noon.

·       You’ve held it together through work, life, kids, emails, responsibilities, expectations, and everyone else’s emotions.

Your nervous system finally glitches and shorts out. And when it does? The glitter comes off.

Nighttime Me has zero desire for motivation, advice, or a podcast about optimizing her life.

Nighttime Me wants silence, comfort, zero human contact, and an emotional support snack that doesn’t require sharing or explaining.

She just wants to exist… without performing.

But this is when Susan (the guilt) shows up uninvited and disguised as your friend.

That voice tells you:

·       “You should be doing more.”

·       “Other people handle this better.”

·       “Why can’t you just push through this?”

Let me be very clear – If you were productive all day, you are allowed to be DONE at night.

You do not need to earn rest.

You do not need to justify it.

You do not need to squeeze one more ounce of energy out of yourself to prove anything.

Rest is not laziness… It is recovery.

And recovery is powerful.

So if you turn into a completely different person after the kids go to bed… welcome to the club, love!

It’s not failure. It’s not weakness.

It’s your body saying, “Yes! We made it!”

Light the candle. Put on the hoodie. Grab the snack and your beverage of choice.

Let Nighttime You exist in all her “tired hobo” glory…without judgement. You earned it!