This is mud season.

Snow gives way to a squelchy mess of wet earth.

The first flowers creep from the ground.

Birds return from their Southern sojourn.

Bears awaken from their winter slumber.

On any given day, you can go from needing a coat and hat in the morning to barely having use for a sweater in the afternoon.

It is a place between.

The dreariest days of winter now past as we eagerly await the sunny days of mid spring.

This is a messy season.

Rainfall and blustering wind make for unpleasant excursions.

Playground slides remain cold and damp.

Yet, glimpses of sunlight remind us of what's to come.

Parenting has a mud season.

A season between.

A season both messy and beautiful.

A season both difficult and calming.

A season between babyhood and big kids.

A season of do-it-myselfs and please don't-gos.

A season of tantrums and meltdowns and of unbridled joy and pure love.

A season of stumbles and scrapes and milestones met.

A season of terrible twos, threenagers and fearsome fours.

A season of first day of school fears and “my baby is getting so big” tears.

A season of ABCs, 123s and “one more book please?”

A season of puddle splashing, finger painting and general mess making.

A season seemingly unending yet somehow over in a blink.

This is mud season.

This is our beautiful, messy in between.