Calm Down, Mom

Last week my daughter E watched me frantically race around the kitchen, trying to feed and water the dogs, make lunch, nag about hanging up coats and book bags and strategically add more trash to the overfull garbage can, when E says barely audible "Calm down, Mom. Just calm down, settle." I took a deep breath as all experienced moms do (taking a breath in a lecture, gives your child a brief moment to try to put a word in edgewise) and realized that I needed to calm down. So what the kids are hungry, they will survive two more minutes. So what the garbage falls on the floor, the dogs will take it out side for me-it will snow and I'll worry about it in spring. I needed to calm down, E caught me off guard because any other day I might have interpreted that as a snide remark. E at 4 year old knows snide, other great maternal quality I may have passed on to her.  I did calm down and together the three girls and I made a huge monument in the trash can for Dan.