I learned where Hannah kept spare sheets and which cup Elias preferred when he was ill.

Rose insisted on wearing a doctor’s coat from her dress-up box and checking everybody’s temperature with a toy thermometer.

At six, Elias began crying because his ear hurt.

I knelt beside him and listened while Hannah decided whether to contact the pediatrician again.

I did not offer to summon a private specialist on a helicopter.

I followed the plan we’d been given, brought water, and stayed calm.

Later, Hannah went to shower while I read to both children on the sofa.