I am not a very outdoorsy person. Not that I don't like the wilderness or nature; because I really do. However, I do not like the thought of being chased down by a cougar, or fighting off a momma bear who is certain I am threat to her cubs. And these fears just kinda stunt the growth of my love for the great outdoors!
J, on the other hand is. Well he's not a fan of fishing, but other than that he totally loves all that nature has to offer. And mountain climbing is his favorite activity. I am afraid of heights, and not a fan of allowing E to wander to far away from me. But when he decided to take the big girls to climb his favorite mountain at Nana's, there just was no stopping him! It's not that it was just the climb that consumed him, it was a favorite activity to do there when he was a kid. And those darn childhood memories, whether good or bad, can really drive us to do just about anything to either re-live them or fix them!
J really wanted to experience this one with his big girls. I just couldn't take that away from him or them. So they planned it all out, packed up, and we loaded into the van. The plan was that I would drive them to the base of their chosen mountain, they would hike up, have a lunch, hike back down, then all the way back to Nana's. I nervously dropped them off and gave instruction's which most likely didn't need to be given! ;)
They started out and S and I drove back to the house. We planned to have a nap, clean up, do some laundry, and work on a rag rug. That all sounded way more fun than climbing a mountain to me; but didn't manage to convince anyone else.
Time passed quickly and I soon forgot about how nervous I was. I made a coffee and settled out on the deck with my rug. All of a sudden my cell started going off! It was a text from A telling me to go outside. They had reached their first point and wanted me to go out on the deck so they could see me. Well I was already there, and not only could they see me; I could see them! Pretty cool.
They said they would keep climbing. and let me know when they were on the way back down.
Every once in awhile I would get a text to go outside. They would wave and yell "Hi mom!". Which I'm sure everyone golfing really loved that! Eventually they stopped for a lunch, which I'm sure consisted of licorice, candy bars, and maybe even chips! Then headed back down.
It took them a couple of hours to do the hike, and we ALL survived! The big girls had tons of stories about the deer they saw, the spots where the called out to me. How E jabbed her walking stick into her toe when she tried to stab it into the mountain to claim it. And about the little toy car someone else left up there. They showed me all the pictures they took during the hike.
Just another great day living life and conquering fears on summer vacation!
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