I still remember the look on her face. Sheer embarrassment emanated from her huge, brown eyes, and she was fighting tears.

My daughter Ella and her school friend Sarah were playing at our house when Ella accidentally marked on Sarah’s nose with a permanent black marker. When my kids noticed the mark, they started giggling. Sarah was embarrassed.

I understood Sarah’s feelings because I, too, had been a sensitive little girl. Just as Sarah was about to cry, I gasped and said, “Sarah, wait right there!” I ran to get a pen. When I returned, I drew a mark on my nose, and then on my daughters’ noses. In seconds, we were all laughing, including Sarah.

Every day I find myself facing moments like Sarah did — moments when I can let an embarrassing incident, disappointment or mistake shift the course of a day and affect my attitude and our home’s atmosphere. Or I can choose to lighten up in the midst of the chaos we call life.