March Mud

Last March, I wrote quite a few posts about mud. Those first few weeks, quarantined at home, meant a lot of time out in our yard. I often took work calls out on the patio, letting the girls play. Their play always ended up revolving around mud.

Saturday, the sunshine lured us all outside. The girls ate lunch on the patio as the flower beds called me to rake out the leaves and sticks, leftover from a winter full of storms and neglect.

As I found joy in uncovering tiny sprouts of spring, my girls once again rediscovered the joys of mud.

Over the past year, they have all really come to enjoy baking shows. Nailed It, a baking competition where the contestants never really “nail it,” is one of their favorites. They often play their own version of the competition, using slime or play dough indoors. I overhear conversations like, “Panic. Panic.” Code for, “I’m calling in help from an expert.” Or, they talk as if they are speaking to a make believe camera, “now I just need a bit more fondant to complete my masterpiece.”

As I made my way back to the patio, satisfied with clearing away the first layer of winter from our yard, I realized that one year later, all three of my daughters are still fascinated with mud. Their creations have taken it up a notch.

I think, maybe, they nailed it.