The story of the author's growing young family. It is about a time (1949-1950s - post Depression and post World War II), a place (family homes in the communities of Hubbard Woods and Northfield), and Rick, the youngest child and only son, who was active and mischievous from the beginning. The family's first home was a Hubbard Woods apartment and when outgrown, with 2 children and Rick on the way, they moved to Northfield - farmland developing into "Winnetka's suburb". Her tale includes Sunset Ridge School, the new 4-room elementary school, the social life (relief from penny pinching years and the war), and Rick's miraculous survival of his adventures. She tells how a driver saved the toddler from running into the busiest of Northfield's streets, Willow Road.