Just Add Water

From outside, his voice slips through the open door and hums in my ear. Contentment has a sound. When you are a mother, the voice of your child playing punctuates the air with peace. When he is silent, you worry.

Water gurgles over rocks and spatters on dirt. My youngest grips a green writhing hose between earnest hands and creates a prehistoric wetland for his dinosaurs.

The excited whimpering of our dog lets me know that she is at her favorite task–nipping at running, splashing water. A vibrating Tasmanian Devil lurks beneath her timid shy exterior. Like Clark Kent, she requires something to change from her normal mild mannered self. Touch requires dripping, spilling, splashing, tumbling water. When she sees it, she comes alive–scampering from place to place, ears on alert, tongue lolling, and feet nimbly climbing air.

She isn’t the only one freed by the racing wetness. My three sons, each in their turn, shed somber selves and become laughing joking Joyboys when handed a hose or a pail full of Nature’s greatest medicine.

Psychiatrists should move their offices outside. Exposing their patients to a hose of running water and a warm day would cure half what ails in this world.

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15 Comments
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writetools
Guest
15 years ago

I went on a field trip with my son today… the whole class and parent’s walked to the library up the street. What was fascinating…not the library… but what the kids saw on the walk there. It was cool to see the world from their perspective and eyes… and height… everything looks different 3 feet from the ground… especially the bugs 🙂 Amie

Elaine
Guest
15 years ago

What a delight to read and see!

Aundrea
Guest
Aundrea
15 years ago

My favorit subjects nature and kids. You capture them so well. I am inspired to get a camera which I was thinking I needed for work. ha almost forgot the joy of catching ”joy” as seen thru the eyes of kids. Which is all of us if we let ourselves be !

Rose
Guest
15 years ago

Oh GOD that is cute! Treasure these days. When you look back it will be like the years only lasted a couple of weeks.

bluelaker4
Guest
bluelaker4
15 years ago

Not only psychiatrists should move their offices out of doors. I think a whole world of good would come from moving office workers desks outside on beautiful days too!

beachcomber
Guest
15 years ago

I’ve often said that, since kids in high country get “snow days”, Humboldt folks should be allowed “sun days”…they are SO therapeutic.

Sandi
Guest
15 years ago

What a neat pic! It tells such a cute story.

Staff
Member
15 years ago

Amie, I love hanging out with kids. Today, I was drug outside to look at a snake, a frog, several nests of ants, and a sowbug. I forgot how wonderful spring is!

Thanks, Elaine. Isn’t Touch hysterical with every hair bugged out like she was struck by lightening. I wish it were a better photo but catching a dog midflight (even if she does it repeatedly) is a wee bit difficult!

Aundrea, I love seeing you here. It is wonderful to be in touch with you again. Scott Cory occasionally reads too. It is like having the high school reunion early.

Rose, I am sooo treasuring his sweetness. His two older brothers have shown me teenage attitude and I’m thinking about giving my littlest some sort of operation that keeps him from aging!

Aunt Jackie, that is a great idea. I’m not sure more work would get done but morale would be higher than Everest.

Beach, Here in So. Hum we get lots of beautiful days but I lived in Eureka one year. Sun days should be mandatory there!

Staff
Member
15 years ago

Thanks Sandi!

max
Guest
max
15 years ago

Oh sheesh psychiatrists use water all the time and ice and electricity too. They are not stingey with that stuff you are giving them a bad rap.

Staff
Member
15 years ago

Somehow the ice and electricity don’t imply the contentment that I think is helpful. I can’t imagine contentedly humming while being touched with either ice or electricity 8)

Monica
Guest
15 years ago

A great photo to accompany an equally great blog, Kym. You radiate “proud mama.”

Staff
Member
15 years ago

Even if sometimes they drive me into behaving like someone I’d rather not be, always I feel blessed.

johemmant
Guest
15 years ago

I really enjoyed this, thanks for stopping by my blog, your comment about braces was wonderful.

Staff
Member
15 years ago

Your poem was beautiful. It made me see where you are and feel it, too.