The Tea Room Emergency: A Mother's Moment of Truth

I'm standing in the hospital tea room, watching my 8-year-old daughter count out coins for the vending machine while my 5 and 3-year-old hover nearby. "Bec, you're in charge," I tell her. I'm about to leave my three children—alone—in a hospital tea room so I can rush to provide anaesthesia for emergency surgery. This is my "Mother of the Year" moment, and I know it.