Anxiety?

I was awakened at 2:45 this morning (just a few minutes ago) to sobbing sounds. I got up to investigate the sound and found Avri laying in her bed completely distressed. She was sobbing hard enough that she could barely tell me what she was so sad about. After a few minutes I finally got out of her that she had not finished her homework packet for school the previous night before she had gotten out her pet rat to play with it. She told me that Daddy had told her she could play with her rat and so she did, but her homework packet wasn't done yet and then she proceeded to sob to me that she was so sorry that she was making bad choices. ...WHOA!!

First of all, her homework packet is something she gets to decide when she wants to do. It isn't due until Friday morning each week, so if it isn't done by Tuesday, that's okay! Secondly, since when does this wake a person up in the middle of the night and make you feel such remorse that you sob this hard? I talked her down from her anxiety attack and explained to her that she wasn't making bad decisions. I told her that it is also important for her to play with her rats because they need attention and exercise and that she will have plenty of time tomorrow to work on her homework packet. But I can't help but be concerned about a 6 yr old who is having anxiety attacks in the middle of the night.

Do you ever feel like you are just completely un-certified to be a mother and handle these kinds of things? I have absolutely no experience with this kind of stuff! I have always known that Avri is a rule follower. She may not LIKE the rules and she will tell you that, but she always works so hard to follow those rules. But I had no idea that she was stressing over them SOOO much! Makes me really think about the way that I parent. Am I too hard on her? Is it just a trait that she carries? Wow. Okay, I think I'm going back to bed. Maybe something will come to me in my sleep.