Puddle Jumping in December

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures might be worth a thousand words, but they only tell part of a story.  Here’s the real story behind the pictures.

Puddle Splashing Scene One:

Three happy kids run splashing through puddles left by warm December rain.  Three year old girl hits a pothole with her tricycle and goes careening over the front of it, landing with a belly flop in the puddle. Mom comforts screaming, crying, cold, soaking wet little girl and sends her inside to change. Then mom picks up one year old boy and follows sobbing, sopping-wet girl inside.  Small boy fiercely protests leaving the puddles with kicking, biting, hitting, and crying.  Mom lugs writhing, screaming boy upstairs while simultaneously dodging his flying fists. She helps wet girl remove pants, shirt, underwear, and socks and throws dirty clothes in laundry room.  Five year old boy outside screams at mom wondering when everyone is coming back out to play. One year old boy inside screams at mom and throws a punch as mom walks past.  Mom re-dresses girl in clean dry underwear, pants, shirt, and socks. Mom and children go back outside to continue the puddle jumping fun.

Puddle Splashing Scene Two:

Three happy kids go back to running and screaming through the puddles.  A few minutes later the small girl trips while running and again lands a perfect belly flop in the middle of a giant puddle. Mom comforts screaming, crying, cold, soaking wet little girl once again. Then mom takes off little girl’s sopping-wet shirt and tries to tell her that it will be fun to keep playing in the puddles. Girl shivers and protests with more crying.  While mom continues to try and convince the girl to splash and have fun, the one year old boy takes off down the road. Mom chases after him and tries to turn boy around and point him back to puddle splashing. Boy refuses to be deterred from running down the middle of the road.  Mom picks boy up and carries him back to house.  Spitting-mad little boy responds with fighting, screaming, and a violent temper tantrum.

Puddle Splashing Scene Three:

Mom gives up on a fun morning of puddle splashing and tells everyone to go inside. Five year old boy protests with loud whines of disapproval.  Mom insists that puddle splashing time is over.  Mom helps all three now crying kids take off their wet pants, socks, shirts, underwear, and rain jackets.  She takes the large load of dirty, wet clothes upstairs to dump in the laundry room. Then she goes back down to lug the crying, screaming, fighting, biting, kicking, clawing, fist-throwing one year old boy upstairs. She tells all the cold, dirty children to get in the bath to clean off and warm up. The still fired-up toddler proceeds to bully and punch his older siblings while in the bathtub. They respond with loud cries and shrieks. Mom pulls the wild child out of the tub and tries to calm him down in his room. While mom is pre-occupied with angry boy, the three year old girl and five year old boy have a gigantic splash party in the bathtub, completely soaking the entire bathroom floor.  Exasperated mom at her wit’s end throws clean towels on the floor and makes the splashing children get out of the tub and clean up their mess.

Puddle Splash Scene Four:

As one year old boy cries and flings his lunch on the floor, Mom loads wet clothes in the washing machine and wonders if she’ll ever take her kids out to splash in puddles again.