Let the kid quit first

'Again!' Every kid has that word. Maybe yours, maybe a niece, a nephew, the neighbor's little one. One more lap. One more push on the swing. One more turn as the monster. And you had a line ready. 'Give me a minute.' 'That's enough for today.' You thought you were setting their limit.

Look at who was really calling time. The restlessness. The countdown to the next cigarette. The part of your head already somewhere else. The cigarette held the stopwatch on your games. Kids hear 'give me a minute' as a fact about how much of you is available. That's the part that's changing.

No guilt needed. The minutes behind you are behind you. What matters is what's in front. Your attention can stay in the yard now instead of drifting to the next break. You can be the monster for as long as the monster's needed. God handed you back a front row seat to that laugh. Take it.

Next time you hear 'again,' say yes on purpose. Not to make anything up to anyone. Just because you can. Stay in until they wander off to something shinier. Then catch your breath from the good kind of tired. This time, the kid calls it.