Woods are nice. There were woods behind my grandmother's home and I found an old Indian arrow head there.

When I was 5, we moved into a development that was surrounded by undeveloped areas. There was a stable nearby with horses, a haunted house with bats, lots of land that just grew as it wanted to. Also an estate where we played. Especially inside an empty pool. I often ran around with my older brother and his friends. I was a tom boy. Walked on a dirt road to school.

We walked a long way to school. Great exercise. We really did trudge in the snow! I spoke French with my girlfriend on the way to school. Because we wanted to!

A friend and I walked a long way to the park on the weekends where there was an ice skating rink in winter. She took figure skating lessons, and she taught me tricks. It was so much fun. No schedule to follow. We just did whatever we wanted to do!

We had no snow days, except maybe in the worst blizzard when you couldn't even open the door the snow was so high. Very few vacations, too.

I don't know how working parents handle it with all the snow days and vacations for their young kids. Their vacation days must revolve around those days off school. One coworkier with kids says it's awful.