Parenting Tips: What Puddle Wonderful Means to Me

By Deborah Pace Rowley

I am a working mother. I serve in my church. My husband works full-time and goes to school full-time. Like all moms, I am busy. If I am not careful, I end up too busy. My parenting philosophy can be summed up in these words: Be a great mom, a few minutes at a time. I can’t spend all day homeschooling my children, even though I envy those who do. I can’t spend hours sewing elaborate Halloween costumes, even though I wish I could. I can’t do the coolest “pinable” crafts with my kids because they are too expensive, too time-consuming or both. But I can snuggle with my daughter and read one chapter in the book we are sharing. I can shoot a few hoops with my son. I can sit on the back porch swing with my teenager and enjoy the spring sunshine. This is what “Puddle Wonderful” means to me. Have you read the poem on our side bar by e.e.cummings? My favorite line in the poem is “when the world is mud-luscious.” I love the messy, no-rules freedom this word represents. I love the way the whole poem celebrates simple childhood games and sweet moments of adventure and play that are gone all too soon.

I knew “Puddle Wonderful” was the perfect name for our blog because this was what we wanted to do: to provide inspiration for simple moments of learning and play. The ideas we presented had to fit this criteria. First, they had to be free or inexpensive to do. Second, they could only require just a few minutes of time. And third, and most importantly, they needed to be fun for both parents and kids to participate in.

Have we accomplished our goal? I know that I have loved the ideas that my sister has shared and I have loved trying out ideas on my own kids. This blog has helped me to be a better mother. As hectic as life gets, I try to remember that it only takes a few minutes to say, “I love you.” It only takes a few minutes to stomp in a puddle or play Pooh sticks in a stream. It only takes a few minutes to play an ABC game or sing a counting song, but the memories of these moments last forever. I can always slow down enough to have a Puddle Wonderful Day!

Included in this post are some of my favorite pictures of my kids. This was the backyard of our home in Arizona on a rainy day before we put in grass. The result of Mom seeing that a few moments of fun was infinitely worth a few more moments of mess= Puddle Wonderful!