A lot of you are kind enough to ask sometimes about the situation of the girls – B, who turns 20 next month, has no language ability at all, and lives full-time in a care facility half an hour to the east of us; and U, who is 14, can talk a little, and is with us five nights a fortnight and in the same place as B the rest of the time.

This is a short (15-second) video that I took two weeks ago when we took the entire family out to Tienen for a combined Mother's Day / Anne's birthday outing. There is a very tolerant brasserie in the main square where we sometimes go, and the girls were both quite excited to be there with us and with each other.

The video starts and ends with them making eye contact with each other, and U (who as ever has a spoon tightly clutched in her fist) burst out into loud chortles immediately after both times. In the meantime B's gaze roams with interest around the brasserie and the world outside, keeping contact with her mother by slapping hands, until she comes back to look at U again. (Anne attempts to persuade U to be quiet, but without success.)

We are very lucky to live in a time and place where our children can get the care that they need.