Below is a picture of Julia in her Grandma Ada’s back yard in West Virginia. The picture doesn’t do it justice because, well, it’s an acre. When Julia (who was born and raised in L.A.) first stepped into it she said,”HOLY MOLY! Now this would be a good back yard for Friday Fun! We could do cartwheels and put up tents and have a campfire and roast marshmallows and catch fireflies…!”

For those of you who have been following the website, you know that Friday Fun is our weekly Friday get-together with mommies and kids in the neighborhood, where kids play like lunatics and mommies drink like well, mommies in desperate need of a cocktail…

You also know that we at MAMMAKAZE live in the Los Angeles area. And if THIS was OUR backyard, Julia would be leaning against a slump stone wall that was only 35 feet from the back of our house, our neighbor’s house (and everything they were doing in it) would be prominently featured in the background and any attempts at cartwheels might end with Julia SLAMMING HER FOOT against the air conditioning unit or another slump stone wall. Also, campfires are out of the question as we live in a high fire area and the insurance companies are still settling from the LAST wildfire. Although we did recently ROAST MARSHMALLOWS over a fire bowl I got from Target using a Duraflame Log. I know, LAME. And don’t get me started on the chemical hazards.

Nope, LA sure ain’t West Virginia. Know what we DO HAVE that West Virginia doesn’t have? Traffic. Oh and pollution.

And truth be told, beautiful oceans, mountains and deserts within an hour drive in any direction. Plus LOTS TO DO!   And most importantly– NO SNOW!

I don’t know what’s better for a kid. CITY OR COUNTRY. I DO KNOW Julia really enjoyed the different landscape. She marveled at the thunderstorms. Watched in awe as the fireflies glowed. And thought it was the coolest thing there was a creek in the yard! She was very relaxed and happy. Even though she didn’t watch TV for a whole week! She even CRIED when we left – wishing she could stay longer.  

WHAT DO YOU THINK? DOES WHERE A KID IS RAISED AFFECT THE KIND OF PERSON THEY BECOME? IS BIG CITY BETTER FOR ITS CULTURAL ADVANTAGES? OR ARE SMALL TOWNS BETTER FOR THEIR LAID-BACK AND UNHARRIED LIFESTYLES? COMMENT.