Slow your Motor...

One day a week our amazing child care provider visits for the morning. This allows me to be in the office for 6 straight hours. She brings her two toddler boys and they hang out with our kindergartener and put him on the afternoon bus for school (1/2 day kindergarten stinks for any parent who is trying to hold a job!) So Tuesday mornings are a bit more hectic here because I need to be showered, dressed and ready to walk out the door too. Well this past Tuesday, I put on my button down Liz Claiborne smart striped business shirt and it felt weird. I took a double take, I examined my buttoning process for a moment, I felt like something wasn’t right but kept moving… at this point - I still had kids to get on a bus and make my lunch. Two minutes before the Amazing Child Care Provider walks in, it dawns on me, maybe my shirt is inside out, maybe the buttoning process felt wrong because MY SHIRT IS ON INSIDE OUT! Sure enough, I examine the stripes and they seem a bit dull, not as bright as they should be. This simple problem made me laugh and I quickly fixed the issue. We had a good giggle as I walked out the door late for my 9am arrival. But, as I drove to work I thought….. Paper Mom, slow your motor….. if you can’t take the time to process weird shirt buttoning…. It is time to slow your motor…..

Slow your motor is a term that Grammy taught me. I have heard her say it to my kids over the years. It means “stop being so wound up, it is time to be calm and relax.” I have adopted the phrase, especially at bedtime when all our kids are singing or dancing or taking extra long to relax for stories…. I will say…. “What would Grammy say right now?” They will often in unison say… “slow your motor” I realize that this is one of those family phrases that they will one day say to my grandchildren, I have no doubt! So my simple advice for today…. Slow your motor. Feel free to adopt the phrase in your own family.