Mud Season

Ok, I hate Spring. Always have. It's definately my least favorite season. Why? I love snow, and hate letting winter go. I love summer, but dread having to face a mirror while wearing a swimsuit. But most of all I hate spring for the following reason: mud. It's sooooo muddy here. All the snow is melting away, and the ground is soaked. Everywhere you step is not just wet, it's saturated. I feel like I'm living in a bog. Mud everywhere, and there is no escaping it. It's becoming habit to get to work, get out of the car, and lean over to brush/clean the mud off the bottom of my slacks or skirt, from where I brushed against the side of the car getting in and out. The floor of my house is gritty with dried mud tracked in by 4 humans and 4 dogs. Driving up my driveway is every bit as nervewracking as it was with all the snow - I'm slipping and fishtailing almost all the way up. I'd park at the bottom and walk, but I don't think I can make it up through the mud without slipping myself. And I don't want to think about what my shoes would look like after walking through that thick layer of loose mud!

I'm trying to keep a positive attitude. I'm good at metaphorical thinking, so I'm trying to see the mud as a symbol for something good. Let's see, what's good about mud? If you're a potter, mud can be used to make lovely things, useful things, or just plain fun things. If you're a gardener, mud is the basic foundation of your garden. If you're a kid, mud is just full of potential for creativity, silliness, and play.

I remember as a child I loved to run around barefoot, still do actually, and I'd get really dirty sometimes. My mom would just smile and recite, "Nobody else but the rosebush knows how good mud feels between the toes!" Going barefoot was a big treat during the years I wore orthopedic braces on my legs. I wasn't allowed to take them off much, and when I did it felt so wonderfully free!

Perhaps I have been a wee bit too grown-up towards the mud. Maybe I should let myself be more child-like, and remember that mud can be delightfully gooshey, and squelchy, and sloppy, and that's good. Perhaps I need to let go of my grown-up need for cleanliness and order (and control) and just appreciate the freedom of being wet and muddy.... it's a good thing to remember our creatureliness, so we don't get too full of ourselves and start thinking human beings are so much better than all the other animals. I guess I really need to relax and have some fun with all this mud!

So tomorrow, when I brush the mud off my slacks, I think I'll whisper to myself, "Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return". And when the dogs leave muddy pawprints all over the floors and jump up and leave them on me, I'll laugh and enjoy being just another of God's creatures. And maybe, when I slip and slide and fishtail my way up the driveway, I'll have enough grace to holler "Wheeeeeeeee!" all the way home.

Happy Mud Season Ya'll!