Oh man, I used to be that guy who'd side-eye anyone reading an e-book at the coffee shop... now my own tablet is full of them. Guess I'm part of the problem.

Yeah, it was. But what hit me later was how that calm wasn't just a break for me. It showed me she was still in there, you know? That tiny moment of peace meant she could still feel safe, even with everything going wrong. That changed my whole goal from just getting through it to trying to give her more of those seconds. Makes you watch for different things.

Try marking them with painter's tape next time.