Another sickening example of the “changes” in our civilization. My family lived in Sacramento when I was a kid, from the age of 18 mos. to nearly 7 years of age. Our family of four lived on a cut-de-sac in a classic 50’s/60’s community known as Rosemont. We had, at first, one car, and our elementary school was a block away. Families everywhere. Kids everywhere. Bikes, trikes, and wagons all over the place. Kool-aid and inflatable pools in the summer. Mothers who ‘stayed’ home and raised kids while somehow managing and maintaining their households. Free-ranging kids, all subject corporal ‘correction’ by any of said mothers if needed. There was a huge billboard out on a two-lane Highway 50, with a giant animated rocking horse under which was scripted “For your kids’ sake, move to Rosemont!” It was a wonderful, but ephemeral, period in our history. And now....
Sounds like you were blessed with a good childhood to me. I had a similar experience of family and normalcy. Best parents in the world, no comparisons between neighbor’s income. Next door lived some of the best and most generous people you would ever meet. You can’t buy that kind of childhood. It doesn’t exist anymore.