"When do you get a break?"

That question wasn't asked of me but of another homeschooling mom. "I've thought about it, but when do you get a break?"
I don't know about you other moms, but "motherhood" is one of those things that never ends. Time away from the kids happens, but time off is a joke.
Use of the toilet is a committee endeavor. Especially if you have someone who hasn't learned how to use it yet.
I've had two professional haircuts in almost six years. Madeleine has had two in the past six months. Okay, they were just trims, but it wasn't me in the bathroom with some haircutting scissors.
When the little people are asleep, you're still on-call. Even at night. To get them out of the crib when they awake, escort them to the potty, minister to them if they wake up in pain, feed them if they're hungry... regardless of the hour.
When we're outside and I'm hanging laundry, I still have an ear cocked for flying sand, or tumbles from the slide or bike, or bonks from the steps. Same goes for when I'm inside washing dishes.
Even when we're not home and the kids are technically in the care of someone else, we as mothers still have a part of our conciousness occupied with their well-being. "Did Grandma remember sunscreen? Is she cutting up the hot dogs right? Does she remember it's The Boy's day to choose the story? If Rachel falls and scrapes her knee again, will she find the Neosporin and bandages? What if Madeleine gives Rachel nursemaid's elbow again?"
I mean, when Dale broke the house, the waitress came up to me and knew my name. Never a good sign. My first thought was, "Which child, which hospital, and how many stitches?"

I could go on about the question missing one of the essential elements of good parenting: the idea of self-sacrifice. The necessity of putting someone else's well-being (the child's) before your own wants. "I want to get my master's in French/study knitting or pottery/join a book club. I'll never be able to do that with all these kids around! So I'll stick 'em in day care/send them to school. There!"
But that's another post. PS to all you single working moms--You are desperately trying to pay for food and utilities. You are sacrificing your wants for your child's needs.

So that question of "When do you get a break?" seems just silly to me. When you're a mom, the answer is, "Never."