It’s beginning to feel like a substantial plurality of my stories are set at playgrounds or parks. This comes as no surprise, really. The playground is the only place I routinely go with my kids for two reasons. First, it exists outside the confines of our house and, despite being quite comfortable, our house can start to feel kind of claustrophobic at times. Second, and more importantly, the playground is the one place that no one holds any real expectations for my children’s behavior as long as they don’t injure anyone or climb up the slides.