Steps

Over the weekend my two daughters invited me to join them on an adventure.  My girls often come up with creative adventures.  They prefer to keep these adventures semi-secret until the last possible moment, but as the Lead Chauffeur, I am sometimes part of the inner circle.

The chosen adventure was a walk to the top of a nearby summit.  Ahead of us would be 1349 steps up and 1349 steps down.  The walk itself was great, spectacular views and the people we encountered along the way were as jazzed as we were so lots of boxes ticked.  Some people walked, while others ran.  A few hard core people carried bags of gravel on their journey.  It is not the easiest walk so carrying bags of gravel is the stuff of legend.  Yes, I have a new goal.

My oldest daughter is in her last few months of high school and becoming increasingly independent.  Conversely, my youngest daughter is in her first year of high school and still discovering who she is.  We are a tight unit and I cherish the time together.

As our adventure played out, I felt like I was a spectator in my own life.  My older daughter was gone, she took off in pursuit of the challenge.  I was worried that something might happen and I felt very uneasy about the situation.  Every now and then she would appear on a ridge, just to let us know she was with us.  These appearances, while more infrequent than I would have liked, did help me cope.

My younger daughter stayed with me, seeking reassurance that she could make the summit.  At times she doubted her abilities, but in the end she found her way.  She pushed as hard physically as I have seen her and I was fiercely proud.

For the walk down we came back together.  Nothing planned, it just happened.  I was at the back now,  talking about the need to respect each step on the descent if we wanted to walk with any degree of dignity the next day.  I don’t know that either girl payed much attention as one exercised her leadership and the other exercised her confidence.

It was a great adventure.  Lessons, sore legs and heroes carrying gravel.  I have been told planning is underway for another assault on the summit, I just hope I can recover in time.