Cheap and easy, and oh so satisfying: Mud pie. Then and now.

It’s Thursday right? Isn’t that the “throwback day?” Well someone sent me this photo yesterday.  One of my dad’s good buddies. I diverge here– but I often appreciate the fact that my parents have friends who have known me most of my life.  I aspire to offer that to my children– someone who saw them run through the house naked and screaming at two years-old and who also met their first girlfriend/boyfriend… and husband or wife AND kids!

The email from beloved RC said, “Remember that day?  RC.”

“Oh yes!” was my internal response!  How could I ever forget that glorious mud fight on my grandparent’s farm.  You can see from the look on my cousin Shannon’s face (in the far back) that it was obviously exuberant!  Who doesn’t LOVE rolling around in the mud– especially as a kid.  I can’t remember the exact circumstances– but the yard was a giant mud pit.  One of us started picking it up (from the look on Shannon’s face….) And the adults just let us go for it!  It was wonderful! Memorable. Extraordinary.

In our backyard we have this tiny circular patch of dirt. I think it was once a fire pit– though honestly I can’t even remember.  We do put our metal fire holder above it now when we have fires in our backyard.  Nonetheless, on sunny days, when the plastic kiddo pool is out, it also doubles as a mud pit.  My kids load their water from the pool into dump trucks and yogurt containers and put it in the circle of dirt.  Pretty soon they are rolling around in it.  Or, they do the opposite.  On more than one occasion I’ve stepped into the backyard to see pool water the color of dirt.  Sometimes seeing their enjoyment of the moment does actually harken me back to the day pictured here.  My kids may not remember their backyard mud adventures like I do the one in this black and white image, nevertheless, playing in the mud is about as good as the look on Shannon’s face!

Thanks RC. 🙂