Par Laurie Kilmartin, New York Times

 

Dear Fellow Mom at the Playground,

 

Please stop.

 

Oh, I know you mean well. You’re trying to be a good mom. In fact, you are a good mom. That’s the problem. Your enthusiasm is killing my buzz. See, I’m a mother, too, at the very same park with my 4-year-old, but I’m here to stop mothering. The playground has a gate, and the asphalt is covered with rubber mats. If I can’t turn on my iPhone and tune out here, I don’t want to live.

 

Don’t mistake my disinterest for neglect. If my son really hurts himself, I will be the second person to jump off the bench. (The first will be whoever taps me on the shoulder and says, “Is that your son bleeding by the swings?”) Until then, I’m getting work done: e-mailing, posting on Twitter.