THINGS TO DO: Be a Yes, Mom - Play in the Mud

Okay - I must admit I was not thrilled when this project transpired unexpectedly yesterday. What is fun and cute when the child is two and tiny and exploring, and it is 90 degrees out, and there is plenty of time for clean up, is not so fun when the child is eight and the clothes to wash are almost as big as mine, and the event transpires a half hour before the beginning of soccer practice.

BUT - every now and then I have to remind myself of the mother I intended to be before the busyness of three kids and school and making a living and life stepped in the way. I did vow a long time ago that I would try to say "No" only when I really had a reason to say "No." I wanted to be a Yes, Mom instead of a No, Mom.

And so when I turned around and saw Marek covered in mud, I gulped back my yells of outrage, and went and got the camera. Meanwhile Oscar joined in, and Tildy took her clothes off.

Ah, mud. Smooth and squishy, cool and gooey. Mud is simply so viseral it is just hard to want to keep your hands clean.

We've had a dirt pile in the backyard for years, and the kids have not taken an interest in it for a long time. I've lately been thinking I should fill it in with wood chips. Judging by Tildy's amazement she has no recollection of her brothers turning into mud monsters ever before.

"Mud is yucky," says Tildy.

I just get out the hose.

On the way to soccer, I am feeling sluggish pulling the loaded trailer behind my bike. Oscar zooms by me.

"You know why I'm so fast today? I feel light. When I feel light I can go really fast."

Hmm. Maybe I should try one of those mud treatments.