After days of torrential rains, the skies finally cleared up and blue skies were peeking through the gray clouds. I decided to lace up my sneakers, crank up the iPod and take a walk around our new neighborhood.
As I turned the first corner, I took a deep breath and immediately started sneezing. One thing the rains brought was a great deal of moisture which meant the ragweed was blooming.
Still, despite the sniffles, the warm air felt good against my cheeks, and I wasn’t the only one enjoying the day. Dozens of people were in their yards, planting flowers and pulling out all the dead plants from the winter.
Seeing all that activity reminded me that our new front yard resembled a graveyard for terminal boxwoods, and I made a mental note to start watching for shrub sales at the local nurseries.
I also noticed people were washing their vehicles, and my responsible voice said it was time to put some suds on my car. I can’t remember the last time I washed my trusty Altima, and the car’s true color is but a faint memory, hidden underneath a fine layer of dust, dirt and grime.
Still, the day was turning into a gorgeous one, and I refused to let the chore list dominate my thoughts.
Coming around the homestretch, I noticed a puddle of water on the sidewalk ahead of me. I smiled, remembering a scene one rainy afternoon many years ago. The boys and I were on our way back from their elementary school when we saw two youngsters walking home.
The taller child was a girl in my son’s class, and her younger brother was walking alongside her. Like a dutiful older sister, Ashley was holding Christopher’s hand, the two trudging down the sidewalk, their heads bowed as the rain gently fell.
As they approached a puddle, Ashley stepped to the side, tip-toeing carefully through the damp grass. Her brother, on the other hand, jumped up and down through that puddle with total abandonment.
The huge smile on Christopher’s face was clearly visible to all of us, and we chuckled about him all the way home. Most people would’ve sensibly gone around that puddle, but watching Christopher splash and smile his way through the puddle was reminder that sometimes, it’s good to let loose and have some fun.
As I approached a water puddle on the sidewalk, I thought about Christopher, so I stepped into the puddle, making up my mind to get a high splash with that first step.
Instead of splish splashing, however, my foot slipped on the hidden muck on the bottom, and I landed right on my behind, smack in the middle of the water puddle.
As I sat there, the back of my shirt covered with splattered mud and my entire rump sopping wet, I thought about Christopher.
I could either get angry or accept that if I’m going to go straight through life’s puddles, sometimes I’m going to get wet. Sometimes I’ll step through them with no problem, but all choices have consequences.
But if I can have a little hop, skip and a dance while maneuvering through life, and risk getting soaked, then it’s worth taking a chance. Whatever the outcome, it’s up to me how I react once I take that first step.
Walking home, my back covered with mud and water, I thought if anyone asked what happened, I’d simply say I decided to make a splash in life instead of taking the safe route.
Christopher would be proud.
Originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.