Out of my comfort zone...

I'll probably never be one of those moms that goes out and plays with her kids in the mud. I'm trying to be a little more spontaneous. We went to a nature trail today. I just bit my lip and laughed when Madeline fell in the mud (less than an hour after her bath) and messed up a cute outfit shoulder to toe. I didn't sanitize her hands after she played with the community animal pillows. I let her dress up in the animal costumes for a full 45 seconds until I just couldn't fight away the thoughts of "what kids wore these last, and were they sick?" When she ate her bread off the ground I just forced a smile and thought about how she must be bolstering her immune system. I trudged through a quarter mile of muddy trail with her for "fun" and when she wiped her muddy shoes all over my pants and jacket I tried to be chill because, hey, it's nothing a washer and dryer can't fix. See, I made a conscious effort to be a laid-back, "cool" mom. I was trying to give Madeline some wiggle room and let her wander several feet ahead of me. But I lost my cool when she and her friend Eli bent down to pick up "mud" that was actually made by a puppy. AHHHHHHHHH It got all over her fingers and a little on her jacket. I think I'm much more comfortable being germ-freak, over-prepared Mom.