Nostalgia

This is a favorite photo of me. A great big pile of leaves just sort of speaks to the way childhood should be, don't you think? I need to ask my parents for a copy of another favorite... I'm Daniel's age, maybe even a bit younger, wearing nothing but a diaper and sitting on a red pedal car at Grandma and Grandpa T's place in Wisconsin. I wonder what ever happened to that pedal car? My brother would probably remember too of many adventures frantically pedaling that thing up and down the sidewalks. A quick internet search found me Pedal Cars and Retro Collectibles so that you can see what I mean... Although many of these are too "glam" for what I am talking about. I remember our pedal car as being a frame, seat, four wheels, pedals and a steering wheel. It was red, and I think there was some white writing on it... perhaps it was even a Radio Flyer, but I would have to ask if someone remembers.

My sister in law and I were lamenting the "fear factor" (for lack of a better word) we have for our children these days. Pedaling a car up and down the sidewalks for hours. Slamming out the back door to go play in the yard, or with/over at the neighbors and not coming home until dinnertime, are just a few of the things that I remember... There was an attempted abduction of a nine year old in my sister in law's neighborhood. Even before this incident, she confessed that if she leaves her little guy in the backyard (fenced) even for a brief moment, say to go wash her hands, she gets nervous. I certainly can't imagine leaving Daniel. Starting school is going to be difficult, I think...