At lunch when the school called me.

Dear Delyara, I had just sat down with my lunch when the school called. Every parent knows that feeling. Your whole body changes before you even answer. I picked up and immediately imagined fever, fall, bullying, lost child, broken glasses, anything. It turned out my daughter had a stomach ache and wanted to come home. Nothing terrible. Still, by the time I collected her and brought her back, the whole shape of my day had changed. She slept on the sofa for two hours with a bowl next to her, and I worked from the dining table, one eye on my laptop and one eye on her breathing. That was the day. No big crisis, just one child unwell and one mother trying to split herself into enough pieces to cover everything. By evening she was smiling again and asking for toast. I nearly cried from relief over toast.