Let's Get Grimy

I just love to walk in soft mud with my bare feet, letting the cool, squishy goo squeeze up through my toes. I babysat a six year old boy once who thought I was crazy. He never dared go outside without some sort of shoes or sandals on his feet.

“Oh, feel this mud! It feels so good!”

“I don’t think my mommy wants me to.”

Remembering that his mother loved playing with my children when she was little, I knew she wouldn’t mind.

“You can wash the mud off in the puddles or pond,” I urged.

After much persuasion, he took off his sandals and tentatively stepped into the mud. A delicious smile lit up his face. He stomped through the puddles and waded in the pond. He tried the soft grass and a big warm rock. He ouched across the gravel and soothed his toes again in the mud. I laughed at the joy of seeing a boy discovering the joys of life.

The next time he came over, he said with an impish grin... “Let’s get grimy!”

I think this current society is too obsessed with being too clean; waterless hand cleaners, antibacterial air sprays, etc. Our children are growing up in a sterile environment, where they don’t build up immunities. I admit there are some bad “critters” out there, growing stronger to resist all the germ fighting stuff we use. I’m not saying to ignore all the safety precautions, especially with foods, but this is getting ridiculous.

We should let kids swim in frog ponds, dig holes in dirt piles, roll down grassy hills, play in rain showers, squish mud through their toes, and get grimy.