At our old house, our first house, our family home for over 10 years, we had this wonderfully shaded, (mostly) flat backyard. Unfortunately, our neighbors behind us had a sloped backyard that led right down to ours. The farthest back part of our yard would often flood in the spring or heavy rains. In general, we avoided the yard when that happened because it was a muddy mess.

One day, I decided to let the kids just be kids and have a blast. They had the freedom to make the biggest mess they possibly could and oh boy, they did. There were so many giggles and smiles and mud. The clothes they wore that day were never the same bright color again, but I had no regrets because they had the time of their lives………….So did I.