Friday, May 19, 2006

Splash

In between downpours yesterday, I took poor little cabin fevered Incrediboy out to play in the fresh air. He was so giddy you’d think I gave him a snout full of nitrous.

Before I knew it he was ankle deep in a great big puddle. GAH! I ushered him out promptly, a little perturbed that his only pair of shoes that he’ll allow on his feet were now saturated and would take days to dry out. But upon pondering the delight on his face by seeing how far he could splash and kick the water about in liquid peacock tails, the little tomboy in me got to thinking about how much fun it was to slop around in puddles and creeks.

When I was in scouts, the most anticipated summer camp activity by far was an afternoon of “creeking”. We’d don a pair of old, worn out shoes and scurry down the banks of the creek. We’d wade around in the chortling waters, watching for crayfish and water striders, tadpoles and interesting stones tumbled smooth by the currents. Something about the feel of the cool fresh waters flowing through our shoes and embracing our ankles made us feel euphoric – as if we were really getting away with something. As if we were being granted a secret parole from sensibility.

I got that same feeling again just then. I popped back in the house to grab my camera, and while I knew I shouldn’t encourage such abuse of the sacred Elmo shoes, I allowed him to continue playing in the puddles. Over and over, back and forth he ran. In a few moments, I joined him. The clear rainwater turned brown and muddy from the constant agitation of our feet. The legs of his sweatpants grew heavy with the splashes. He squealed, laughed, and beamed with the sweetness of this indulgence.

And so did I.

Childhood is getting further and further away in my rearview mirror – but I’ve been briefly gifted a wormhole, to shortcut back whenever I choose. I need to take advantage of it - whenever I can. I figure Incrediboy can only be blessed and enriched by Mom's company sometimes joining in the play she watches over. As can his Mom. And if a few pair of shoes get ruined in the process, it's a small price to pay.

17 comments:

chesneygirl said...

Oh Clew! This reminded me of my childhood days.

Out behind the subdivision where I grew up was a large woods with a decent size creek flowing thru it. All of us kids in the neighborhood used to gather back there for hours and hours in the summer months....climbing trees, building forts, playing hide and seek, discovering bugs and birds and rocks and fish.

Wow!...those were the "good ol' days"...thanks for the awesome trip down memory lane, girl!

btw, now? They torn down the woods and built houses. :(

Speckledpup said...

ah smart woman..

Itchy said...

I love this post. I love everything about it. I love that I could see the two of you, of course it's my own vision of the two of you but you were there anyway, splashing in all the puddles. Laughing. Smiling. I love it.

I still look into puddles for tadpoles. It's been too long since I've found any.

Rebecca said...

Little boys and rainpuddles go hand in hand. ;)

It's true Clew - sometimes we gotta live a little with our kids - not just vicariously. :)

I totally can relate to this post, and I loved it. You said it so beautifully. :)

David Meigs said...

Sounds like fun.

bigwhitehat said...

This is why boys need boots.

You need to take the boy out to do some real "creeking" with MaMa! Just stay away from the water-moccasins. Enjoy this while it lasts. If you enjoy the outdoors with him now, He will always associate the outdoors with you. Once he gets big enough to shoot a rifle, he will become more and more scarce.

I don't know how you look at the world. I think God made nature for my own personal enjoyment. I hope your boy shares that same awe and wonder. There is nothing like a little contact with nature to let you know Somebody BIG really loves you.

Stacy said...

Your post gave me that warm, fuzzy feeling. Kids are a blessing.

Martie said...

Clew, this is a great post. Some of us "older Moms" did the same things with our kids but never wrote about it anywhere. Your capturing of it in words will remind us forever of the time we were "childlike" and played in the puddles with our children. Thank you for this lovely reminder! I love you, XOXXOO

Bill said...

I need to be more like that with my own kids. Too often I try to keep them from the very things that I enjoyed as a kid. And I need to let them indulge in things like this occassionaly. Thank you for writing the Clew...

i used to be me said...

your posts are lovely sparkling gifts. never ever think you're not touching someone when you write, you do it so well.

Saur♥Kraut said...

I love outdoors activities, but don't creeks come with leaches where you are? Here we had tadpoles...no leaches, but copperheads and alligators...

Ame said...

This has always been a HUGE fav around here!!!!! And I'm hoping it always will be ;)

Ruth Dynamite said...

Keep on splashin'!

Anonymous said...

What a blessing! Shoes can be replaced but memories last forever.

Cheryl said...

Hmmm... I thought I'd commented on this one before. You're on fire lately, Clew! A few of my favorite gems from this one are "the sacred Elmo shoes" and "I've been briefly gifted a wormhole." You touch on some universal truths in such a beautiful way.

Dionne said...

I need to indulge and let my kids and I do stuff like this more often. I lived by a creek growing up so did all kinds of messy stuff like this. I love the nickname Incrediboy. Our whole family loves that movie.

Cheetarah1980 said...

I used to love the way water felt sloshing in my shoes, especially when I'd stomp my feet. Watching the water shoot out the sides of my sneakers was a highlight during my early years.