[rockpaperscissor]

The family behind us moved in a couple of years ago. There is an empty lot beside their house which they keep mowed, and their children, boys and girls, who appear to range in age from maybe 8 to 14 are always out playing together after school - kickball, tag, just running around. The older one pulls the younger ones around on a cart with the riding lawnmower, or drives them around on a small motorcycle. My wife and I love to hear them playing, laughing and screaming in the evening - right up until dark. On some nights, the family sits together around a fire pit in the back yard. The sound of children playing outside is seldom heard anymore. Some things that used to be so common have become so rare. A couple of weeks ago we noticed that an enclosure was put up, and can see a couple of small pigs (pot bellies, perhaps), and we can hear ducks. The kids are involved in their care. Some families are still doing things right.