Patience. Parents need it by the bucketload; teachers, doctors and nurses must be able to summon it by the truckload. But where do other people get their reserves of patience?
I, for one, am not sure I could pull it off. Indeed, now that my son Alex is well into his "terrible twos," I've come close to slinging all his toys off the balcony -- which is why I was dreading imposing him on a complete stranger when Mutsuko, my wife, suggested having a family portrait done by a professional photographer.
"Fantastic idea," I said out loud. Nightmare scenario, I thought to myself.