It's after 1 a.m. I should have been in bed hours ago because I have to be up at 6 to get my daughter ready for school. But I am burning the midnight oil. Why? Because I am a member of an elite group--inMomniacs . Sure, there are your traditional insomniacs, but we're different, because we're sleep-deprived by choice. There is a whole group of us who, after the witching hour, are finally allowed to come alive in another way. Not that being a Mother isn't fulfilling--it's just all-consuming. Most minutes during the day we can barely get a word in edgewise, let alone form a complete, intelligible sentence. So while everyone else is catching zzz's, we trade the sleep we so desperately need, for precious alone-time. By day, we are car-poolers, nose-wipers, homework helpers, cooks, maids, laundresses and more. And we don't clock out at 5. But when the final eyelid closes on the last wakeful child, we tip-toe to freedom. For me the time is usually spent in front of the computer--catching up on e-mails, journaling, maybe watching a show on-line that I missed in between all the other demands of my day to day life. It doesn't really matter how we Mom's spend our spare time, as long as it doesn't revolve around anyone but us. Selfish? Hardly! The way I see it, it's the only way to stay sane. And after all, if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.