playground impasse

this is the second time
this has happened to me:
a turkish mom at the playground
walks over with her child in tow
and ask me to let her child
get on the swing
that my child is on.
it will only take a few minutes
and then they’ll go, she says.

i’m truly perplexed by this,
and i’m never inclined to say
“sure, ok, let me take my child off the swing
so you can be on your way.”
whatever.

while i never flat out say “no”
i always point to the 3 other swings
where they can ask some other child
– a teenager, a pre-teen, any child older than my child –
to get off of.
and then if they insist
– which they do –
i ask my child if she would like to get off
in order to accommodate
this other woman’s child
with a busy schedule.

i ain’t no pushover, teyze.

why do they do that?
the best spin i can put on it
is that they don’t want to ask a child,
but want to speak parent-to-parent.
whatever the reason,
it really irks me,
but they’re gonna learn
that just cause you’re all up in my face
and in my personal space
this brown sister is not gonna
uproot her child
just cause you ask.

sure, you can ask,
but you may have to
wait your turn,
come back later / tomorrow,
or explain to your child
that s/he can’t have whatever s/he wants
when s/he wants it,
especially at the expense of another person
– another life lesson we can all re/learn at the playground.