You managed it. They went in. Technically, a win. And then you sit in the driver’s seat, turn the car on. And then off again. Your chest is tight. You can still feel her hand gripping your sleeve. You go to work, or you go home, and you carry it all day. Every time your phone buzzes your stomach drops in case it’s the school. Nobody sees that part. They see a child who got through the gate. They don’t see what it cost her to get there, and they don’t see what it cost you. During my daughter’s school refusal I lived on that adrenaline. Brace in the morning, brace for the phone, brace for pick-up, brace for tomorrow. It took me a long time to understand that my nervous system was in alarm too. And a mum in alarm can’t easily calm a child in alarm. So this isn’t a pep talk. It’s permission. Look after your own body after drop-off. Sit for two minutes before you drive. Breathe out longer than you breathe in. Text someone who gets it. You are not weak for feeling wrecked by t...