Time-Out for Daddy

Perhaps one of the most important things I've ever done as a father was to put myself in time-out. As our bedtime routine was coming to an end, so was my patience. Apart from what I posted about a baby screaming all night long, the second most frustrating thing in the world is repeating my children's names without any response despite the fact they are mere feet away from me. But putting myself in time-out really got their attention. I stepped back to a corner of the room, folded my arms, looked up to the ceiling, let out a huge "I can't believe I'm doing this" sigh, and counted to ten. The kids were mesmerized and their faces reflected a combination of "this is funny" and "I can't believe my eyes." Seeing their faces was so funny to me that I started laughing before I got to ten. I came back to the kids, gave them hugs, and said, "Wow! It really does work. I feel better already."