Looking over my childhood, the milestones aren't so much birthday celebrations and major events but a series of places and sights and smells and sounds and the touch of a thousand little things.

Some moments are sharp and bittersweet, like the Bear Trap. I can still feel that struggle to break free, the feeling of the woolen socks, the thrill of exhileration mixed with the worn down of the carpet. Now that I'm older, with younger cousins, it's the reminder of how strong kids can be, the feeling of a small piece of dynamite twisting and turning between my ankles.

Other moments are simply a flash - a hand outreached toward a bright red flower, the faint sounds of a touchdown scored at the nearby high school, the mixed scents of honeysuckle and newly mown grass.

The Memories

• Ah, the joy of snow days (elaborate)
• Ah, the joy of snow days (simple)
• Summers meant snap peas.
• Once I saw the Bogeyman.
• I had a thing for Crayons. I still do.
• I also had a thing for this kitchen play set my father built for me.
• My Tandem experience was a fabulous one.
• I went trick or treating at the house of Anastasia once.
• I loved swinging into leaves