It was a bank holiday today with St.Patrick and everything so there was no bus to work and I had to walk. Overnight rain had left puddles in every dent in the pavement. The Icelandic word Hopp\u00edpolla meaning “hopping in puddles” [also a song from Sigur R\u00f3s] carries with it something rare, permission. Permission to step out of the sensible world for a moment and land, quite deliberately, in the joy of being 7 again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s something quietly rebellious about it too. As we get older, the world starts handing us rules we never agreed to, don\u2019t splash, don\u2019t run, don\u2019t look foolish, don\u2019t let your feelings feel too much and defintly do not show it when they do, and yet, there I am at 7:30am, looking at a puddle outsode the spar and thinking, why not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In hindsight yes I had wet socks all day but that single little jump of defiance, I broke the surface both literally and metaphorically. I accepted the mess (wet socks, laughter, a raised eyebrow or two) and for a second, time folds in on itself and I am 7 and alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not really about the puddle, is it? It\u2019s about refusing to let wonder be something you used to have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a quiet wisdom in people who still \u201cjump in puddles,\u201d whatever form that takes. They\u2019ve figured out that youth isn\u2019t something you lose, it\u2019s something you either keep practicing, or slowly set down. My advice if a puddle presents itself\u2026 I\u2019d say the only sensible thing to do is take a running start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PS .. is there a word for the close cousin of Hopp\u00edpolla, autumnal leaf scuffling?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On the simple joy of jumping in puddles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life","category-musings"],"yoast_head":"\n