They say to find your flow — that magical place where time disappears and you feel fully alive.
Well…
Most days, the only thing that makes me lose track of time is folding laundry while a toddler eats Play-Doh behind me and someone else yells “Muuuuum!” for the 76th time in an hour.

But there was this one time.
In Portugal.
Two years ago.
I had somehow, miraculously, managed to get myself on a surfboard. Me.
Four kids, and still I thought, Yes, I too can be a surf goddess.
So I turned to my husband — calm, slightly terrified — and said,
“I’ll just be out for an hour. You’ll be fine with the baby and the other ones, right?”
He nodded. Brave man.

…
One hour passed.

…
Then another.

…
By hour three, I was still out there.
Chasing wave after wave.
Feeling the sun on my face, the salt in my hair, and — get this — nothing in my hands.
No nappies, no snacks, no sippy cups.
Just water, breath, board, body.
I was gone — not lost, but found.
I paddled in like a sun-drunk pirate returning from the high seas.
Grinning. Wild-eyed.
And my husband?
He just looked at me like, “So… fun, huh?”
And I said, very sweetly:
“Time got weird.”

So yes, surfing made me lose track of time. But also — silence does.
A hot cup of tea with no one climbing on me.
Writing something that feels true.
Laughing too long at something ridiculous.
Walking alone with no destination.
Not all time-loss is equal.
Some is exhaustion.
Some is motherhood.
But some is magic.
And that magic matters.
So tell me…
What makes you lose track of time — in the best way?

Love, Stefanie Anna