Dear Neighbor

Dear Neighbor,

This letter comes to express my gratitude to you for giving me a fresh perspective on parenting. I doubt I’d be where I am today without your expert advice.

Before I moved into my present house, I considered myself to be a fairly competent mother. Sometimes, on rare days of peace and tranquility, I even congratulated myself on being an outstanding mother.

Until you came along. After I moved, I quickly learned who the parenting authority on this block was.

“Your child is running down the block,” you informed me crisply one afternoon. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. He’s way too young to be left alone like that.”