kiwords

Raphael had been sent to the stairs for some egregious behavior toward Max. When I ordered him to go sit on the stairs he stomped off to do so, shoulders slumped with regret. After about 3.5 seconds of model behavior he began to wail, “Mama? Can ah get up?”
“No. Please be quiet in time out.”
A heavy sigh. 2.3 seconds of silence.
“Mama? Can ah get up?”
“No. Please be quiet in time out.”
You may be detecting a pattern here. Said pattern went on for some time. Finally a suitable length of time had passed, and I walked over to release him. By this time he was lying down on the step, feet up on the wall, moaning half-heartedly, “Ah wanna get up. Ah wanna get uuuuup.” When he saw me he leaped up. “Can ah get up?” His demeanor went from forlorn to sparkly in an instant.
“Yes,” I replied, “you may get up. Go tell Max you’re sorry.” He turned to go, and then looked back at me.
“Can ah hit him?”
“No.”
“But…why not?”
“Because if you do I’ll put you back in time out.”
This earned me a very displeased look, but he trotted off to obey.
“Mats!” I heard him call out, “Mats! Ah sowwy, meanie.”
I’m getting old here, people.