How does she do it

People often ask my dh and I how we do it with all those kids (5 ages 2-15). We usually just sort of shrug and say, "You just do." But my dirty little secret is that I don't always. Two days ago, I got a call from the school because the person who was supposed to pick my kindergartener up from school for a play date didn't. Yesterday I got a call from the dentist office at 3:30 reminding me that three of the five had appointments starting at 3. And today, I didn't take my 14 dd to visit a potential school because my husband said we got a call cancelling the appointment. It turns out it's a different meeting that was cancelled - one on Beacon Hill (our state capitol) not Beacon Hill Academy (the school). I find these sorts of things incredibly frustrating since I work so hard to be organized. I plan, I review, I check my calendar nightly. I just have so many balls in the air - or plates spinning - pick your metaphor - that a crash here and there is inevitable. Still, I'm tempted to beat myself up for it, wallow in a pit of self pity berating myself for my stupidity. It's hard to let go of the mistakes. It's hard to focus on all the things that go right. It's like knitting 800 rows on a stole and seeing only the extra hole or the short line of twisted stitches instead of the rich pattern that everyone else sees.

Aren't these mishaps an opportunity to shine? If we are truly organized, or at least earnest or creative enough, can't we not only recover but turn mistakes into minor victories? I had the missing parent's number on my cell phone and dd was picked up within minutes of my finding out she'd been forgotten. She learned that it's okay if she's scared, things can work out. I was able to quickly round up the kids and get them to the dentist because I'm fanatical about knowing where they are all the time. I still haven't fixed the school issue, but I think I can.

Anyway, for anyone who is wondering how I do it - I don't, I'm just really good at faking it.
That and I call on God a lot.