Twinkle: Garden in Peril

I'm of the belief that yards and gardens--even (especially!) ones near houses where children live--can be full of natural beauty and magic. With love and imagination, I think they can be considered fabulous and delightful by people of any age, a la The Secret Garden. My particular bit of earth (backyard) is a complete and utter empty slate. It was a slate I'd hoped to fill with something lovely and Jon Carloftis-like. It could take years, but that's how long we'd like to stay here.

I'm not one to look a gift swingset in the mouth, but when my in-laws proposed said swingset and came over to measure for it, they wanted to buy one so large that it would have taken up the entire yard. Literally. (It's not that hard to do--the yard isn't large by any means. Your standard Lake Forest-style McMansion swingset would easily fill up the whole space). Mr. Twinkle and I requested a smaller model, something we could stick behind the garage under a cluster of tall trees--a magical, semi-secluded spot that wouldn't interfere with a garden and would be a shady, delightful place for our girls to play.

Well, the day of reckoning is here, as I learned this afternoon when I walked downstairs to find a familiar silver Camry parked in my driveway, and a certain father-in-law snooping around my back yard. My first impulse was to hide and pretend not to be home, but I figured if I didn't, the swingset would end up exactly where I didn't want it. So I went out there to defend my garden-to-be. And how ridiculous is it that I even have to?

My father-in-law informed me that the swingset might be too big to fit where I want it, and if so they might need to put it somewhere else. And don't I want to be able to see the swingset from the kitchen window? (Well, no, actually I don't think I need to. When Twinklette and her sister are little, I will probably be out there playing with them anyway, and when they get older I think they'll be fine out there in the highly secure fenced back yard by themselves. Not that my reasoning is anyone's business but mine and Mr. Twinkle's. Why do I even have to explain myself on this?)

I explained that I want a garden, and that I like the idea of the swingset being in the shade, and that they need to find a way to put it where Mr. Twinkle and I want it. I was informed that it still might not fit. I thought that was why we measured the yard and decided on a particular model before. And if it doesn't fit where I want it, I say instead of finding a new spot for it, we find a new swingset.

My father-in-law then informed me that he'd need to set up the swingset in my garage right now, so that he and a handyman can put it in the yard tomorrow. This means that Mr. Twinkle and I won't be able to park in the garage tonight. In the 4-6 inches of predicted snow. If the snow's bad, who even knows if they can get over here and install the swingset tomorrow? Our cars could be parked outside in the elements for several days. As I was writing this, there was a knock on the door and I was informed that I needed to remove my car from my garage right this minute, so that swingset assembly could officially begin.

I feel like my in-laws are getting awfully bossy over a swingset that I could take or leave.