Ahh…so this explains it.

Excerpt from Kelly Corrigan’s The Middle Place

“The way I see it, if you have four kids, you don’t really have to do anything else, ever.  Three kids is a handful, but one that many people manage to hold.  If you’re a mother of four, you definitely don’t have to have a career or volunteer for the school fund raiser or even bring an appetizer to the dinner party.  In fact, people give you a lot of credit for wearing both earrings and knowing how to spell chaos and antidepressant.  Four kids gives you a pass for every forgotten birthday,overlooked appointment, and missing form.  Plus, you can be late for everything the rest of your life and never return phone calls.  Who’s gonna blame you?”