My Childhood

I had what might felt like an idyllic childhood when it came to playing. I spent my life from age 6 months to 16 years in the same house, a little yellow stucco house on a corner lot. Having a corner lot meant a huge backyard and front yard, plus a bonus yard in between our house and the detached garage.

Our backyard had an apple tree, vegetable garden, flower gardens beautiful enough for people to stop and just look, and a swing set made for us by our dad. Across the street was "Goose Egg Park" so named because of its shape. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I realized its real name was Cascade Park.

It seemed every other house had old people or families with young kids. The old people served as additional guardians and could always be counted on to tell us the whereabouts of friends who'd gone astray during a game.

When we had exhausted what our yard, the alleys through our block, and the park had to offer, we sometimes ventured a few blocks down the street to play in the wooded area near a stream. I know, to parents now that sounds like a classic recipe for abduction, but boy did we have fun.

Living overseas, I used to lament that my children haven't grown up with anything close to this. They've lived in 5 homes in their short lives and all have provided (sometimes vastly) different play opportunities.

I won't go into detail in this post because I'm curious about others' growing up experiences. What was good about it? Anything you wish had been different? Do you feel like your kids have something better or less than what you had?