Let Life Be Messy

This past weekend was rainy and cozy. My 23-year-old daughter Mackenzie visited home, which made it even better. Homemade brownies, hot chocolate, magazines, some wine, and loads of laughter.

It poured on Friday. Saturday morning was sunny, so Mackenzie and I wanted to go for a walk. We decided to take a route on the streets, versus a hike in the mountains, since it’d be muddy. I assured Mackenzie it was fine to wear her new (expensive) tennis shoes, as we’d stay in the neighborhoods.

We headed into the mountain area, and were planning to be on the wide, paved road. “But Mom, the trail looks fine. It’s dry, come on, let’s go that way!” So we went. It was fine for about half a mile, until we came to some puddles and sloshy mud. A few more steps, and the whole path was gooey. We trudged through the high wild grass on the sides of the trail, hoping it wasn’t marshland.

The mountains surrounding us were a vibrant green and wildflowers started to bloom. Bright blue sky peeked through wispy clouds. The cool wind whipped our hair and coaxed us to zip up our jackets.

Not that we noticed much of the amazing show nature put on for us. We were too busy watching where we stepped.

Our trail merged with another. Two little boys and their dad came from the other way, and were ahead of us. The first thing Mackenzie and I noticed was how muddy their shoes were.

“Looks like they had fun,” I said. The trio walked in the middle of the trail, while we stumbled along in the tall grass.

The boys stomped and skipped. Mackenzie and I laughed because it looked like the little guys were having trouble lifting their feet. Their shoes were caked at least an inch thick with mud, and they stuck each time the boys took a step. The boys jumped along, without a care in the world. I imagined their dad thinking, “Oh well, it’ll wash off.”

Let kids be kids. Enjoy life, and all of it’s pleasures, even if they’re messy.

“Mom, look,” Mackenzie said as she picked up one of her feet.

The bottoms of her soles were thick with mud. We laughed. “I guess we should’ve done what those boys did. All that time we were looking down, trying to be so careful.”

Despite the mud, we had a lovely time. The experience reminded me of the popular quote:

First image courtesy of: thekitchenmechanicfiles.wordpress.com

Second image courtesy of: excellentquotations.com