When the day started I didn't realize that i would be racing to the top of the mountain with a bunch of proverbial "Hares", and I in turn was the "Tortoise" of the group---and while slow and steady did not WIN the race it did FINISH it. It turned out to be a rather warm day but beautiful none the less--lots of things blooming in the desert--I think we caught the end of the flowers as it is getting too warm to keep them alive for much longer.
I learned some things about my son Ryan yesterday that really surprised me.[Mind you, this is the same child who hours earlier was saying that he wanted to be a stunt man when he grew up.] I didn't think he knew what "FEAR" was and I found out that he has a healthy dose of it when it comes to HEIGHTS. In the process of making it to the top of Pichacho there are places where you have to use cables to help you scale some steep rock areas. They are quite steep and close to the edge in some spots.
This had him rather unglued at the prospect of continuing .....
--he made it up the first incline but was determined that was all he could do. We sat and talked for a bit and we decided to press forward, (secretly i was thinking that i now had a buddy to move along slowly with me) once he made it past the next area he left me in his dust. That was it--he was off to continue the race.
I am proud of him for facing that fear and working past it--I am sure that he will have other days where he will have to address the issue but he has this experience to look back on and realize that he can succeed in spite of the fear
.
Sometimes your kids can really amaze you. It was interesting listening to the kids talk about the things that they are afraid of and how the have overcome some of these fears or how they continue to deal with them--{like monsters under the bed}
Blake played a short lived game of "kick the cactus" and a big red headed black bodied bug decided to play a game of tag and Blake was it. This bug "attacked" him and sent him running all over the mountainside. They decided that this bugs name was "ANT" Leigh Ann
I love the way the desert looks basking in the late afternoon sun,it is amazing how it radiates and glows against the mountains. I have decide that this is probably my favorite time of the day to be out in nature. There is an amazing calmness and beauty that occurs just before sunset, and while we do have some incredible sunsets, it is the hour or so before that washes the earth with a golden glow that i really love. It really warms my heart and gives me a peace that is hard to explainI enjoyed the time with my brother and just talking and hanging out with him. Life is so busy that it is not often that we get that chance. He stayed with the kids on the way up and with me on the way back--i figure he was the safety officer of the group. I thought we would have enough water with everyone having their own camelbacks--and i was wrong, so the extra water he brought was a real lifesaver. He also had the duct tape handy when I needed it for some hot spots that were popping up on my toes--gotta love the duct tape and the many uses it has.Thank goodness for an eagle scout and his being prepared-it made for a much more enjoyable trip.
We didn't make it to the ostrich farm--we got off the mountain too late, so we will save that for another day--the kids wanted to go back today. Unfortunately, today we need get back to real life and accomplish those things we ignored yesterday. Welcome back to the real world. I must say though--each step i take today reminds me of what i did yesterday--MY CALVES ARE KILLING ME.
“I'm glad I did it,
partly because it was worth it,
but mostly because I shall never have to do it again”
------
Mark Twain
No comments:
Post a Comment