Musical Pairings: Mud Mud Glorious Mud, Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head, When You’re Happy and You Know It. Please share your favorite Mud Season songs
Ah, mud season. The season where we think in topographic terms when it comes to venturing out to the grocery store - what back road valley will least likely swallow-up my car? Yes, it is that time of year when the snow is melting, but spring has yet to bloom. The meadows turn slick and then are filled with a mushy slushy mess, the potholes are big enough to swallow a Smart Car, and you understand why the most important room is called: “the mud room”. But don't get stuck in the muck, because mud season is actually the perfect time to slow down and reconnect with what counts.
I know what you're thinking: "Slow down? Me? I have a million things to do!" Trust me, I get it. We live in a world where being busy is seen as a badge of honor, but let me tell you, there's nothing more satisfying than taking a break from the hustle and bustle and getting back to basics. And what better way to do that than by embracing mud season? I mean who needs a fancy spa treatment when you have a natural washboard and mud bath that goes for miles? It's like a Swedish massage and all-natural exfoliating treatment all wrapped in one for both you and your car.
Mud Season is the time of year when you can really appreciate the simple things in life, like remembering as a child how much fun it was to play in the puddles, and cover ourselves in thick glorious mud! Remember the way the mud squishes between your toes and the satisfying sound of your boots getting stuck in the muck? These simple pleasures still exist and there is nothing quite like mud season to reconnect us with the wonder of our inner child and rediscover joy as we use our memories to chart our path home.
As a child mum would take us up to the “wading pool”, a glorified mud puddle in our field with mud so thick my sister and I could luxuriate and exfoliate for hours. In our early years we would march in our wellies and raincoats singing “Mud Mud Glorious Mud” through the meadow reciting EE Milne stories with mom . She would memorize music and we would make mud pies, and create little channels for the muddy water to trickle out to a stream. “When you’re happy and you know it clap your hands…”. We were slathered in a protective skin of oozy loving mud. My sister would inevitably clap her hands and jump into the puddle making the biggest splash!
Sure, it may not be glamorous, but that's kind of the point. Mud season reminds us that we don't need fancy gadgets or expensive vacations to be happy. Sometimes all we need is a good pair of rain boots, good clearance and great friends with sense of adventure and humor.
So as you navigate through the potholes, which are so deep they could sink down through geologic time all the way through to China, slow down and take a moment to appreciate the journey. And don't worry about ordering Chinese take-out. Just take a drive through the backroad valleys, and you'll pick up wontons attached to your axels. You'll need a passport and a visa just to retrieve your car from the trench, but that's just part of the adventure.
But mud season isn't just about bogging us down in bad jokes. It's also a time for reflection and contemplation. Mother Nature herself welcomes you with open arms, giving you a warm hug as you navigate through the mud. She may not want to let go of your car, but maybe she's just saying "hold on here all you SOVs." No more quick runs to the store in your gas guzzler. Maybe it's time to slow down and appreciate the simple things, like making gallons of maple syrup instead of burning gallons of gasoline.
So, let’s embrace the mud season with a sense of humor and a splash of maple syrup. Life is a journey, and sometimes it's the bumpy roads that lead us to the sweetest destinations.
Getting Unstuck
Mud season reminds me that cars don't belong in nature and the sooner we are rid of the damn things the better off we will be. These extreme weather events are particular hard on the world of cars as I see them piled up in the rivers after another unprecedented, never seen anything like this before flood.
About the only way, I can relate to mud season is to remember that at Dartmouth we would return from our brief spring break and find the campus awash in mud… So much mud, that they would put duct board walkways on the paths across the Dartmouth green.
Unstuck, on the other hand, is a wonderful metaphor for spring cleaning… Getting rid of all of the debris that has piled up in our heads, hearts and souls, and embracing the beautiful fresh start, that comes with the daffodils and the reemergence of life as nature awakens afresh.