Last night as I was preparing dinner, I had one wild little boy on my hands.
With frayed nerves I sent him outside to play.
It wasn’t long before his sister was calling me as she was running away from a wet, dirty brother chasing after her.
He ran out, undeterred and determined to enjoy the puddles in our backyard.
This little boy of mine stuck his entire head into a mud puddle for no other reason than because he is a boy with a love affair with being dirty.
And then he proceeded to roll around
and around
and around
in the
mud!
He was having the time of his life!
At first my husband laughed at me for grabbing the camera and shooting away.
And then he did something that delights my heart.
He joined his little boy in rolling around and getting dirty in the mud.
I learned such an important lesson as I watched my husband and my son having fun together.
Sometimes it’s more important that we, as parents, let go of our inhibitions and all of our seriousness and join our children in having fun.
We need to laugh with them.
And play with them.
Even if it causes us to get a little {or a lot} muddy.
We spend so much time as parents disciplining and teaching.
So much time is spent training and instructing.
Letting go of this for a moment to join in and have fun, to enjoy our precious little ones can do so much to foster our relationships with them.
We need to join in the fun because above all else, they need to know that they are loved.
They need to know that they are cherished by their mom and dads.
They need to know that our relationships with them are more important than keeping our adult pride intact.
As my two muddy boys began making their way inside for a shower my thoughts began to turn to the dirty laundry that awaited me.
But those thoughts didn’t last long because these smiles…the happiness I saw on the face of my little boy…
those smiles and his light hearted dancing feet are worth it all.
This post is being linked to 5 Minute Friday, but in all honesty I must admit that it took a bit more than five minutes to put together.
There were some photo edits involved as well, but the writing…the heart writing was my 5 Minutes of Joy this morning.
Denise says
Such a sweet post.
LifeAtTheCircus says
Such a beautiful post! I think Daddies are really good at letting go, and having fun, much better than moms (at least that is how it is in my house).
susan says
LOVE this! Love the lesson, love the photos, love the JOY that shows through on the faces and in your words.
monica says
looks like they had a great time! thanks for visiting me for FMF today. 🙂
Barbie says
What a fun post, and what a fun daddy!
Ro Paxman says
What fun this post is and what great photos! It was such a pleasure to read it. Made me smile. 🙂
Mary says
This was beautiful, Monica. 🙂