When is the last time you splashed in a puddle?
Yesterday, I gathered my boys up, got a cup of coffee, and took them to a neighborhood trail. Convincing them to leave the house was slow. Getting them to put their shoes on and leave the car was slow. We emerged from the car and were immediately surrounded by mosquitos I didn’t expect to be there, so slowly I considered giving up and going back home.
But we pushed on past the swarm and suddenly the mosquitoes all but disappeared. The boys kicked up their pace and started running down the trail for a bit… until one suddenly sat down on the concrete and said “this is boring.” Following his lead, another sat and said “I’m just gonna rest for awhile.”
Maybe this was a bad idea, I thought.
But then, we saw a puddle, and I gave up all former rules of avoiding puddles and the mess they cause and said “Why don’t you splash in that?” Suddenly, unexpectedly, all three were animated and moving. They splashed, and kicked, and ran, and jumped in their mismatched pajamas and sandals until they were soaked to the bone.
Later in the day when the tantrums started and the fighting and the bad attitudes all around… I went back to these videos of splashing fun.
Victor Frankl once wrote “Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.”
It rained all night. Poured. I haven’t looked outside but I’m guessing there are puddles joined to other puddles outside. So, I’m guessing, I have a choice to make.
And so do you.
Will you choose joy today?
