Conquering the "V"

What a weekend. Tricia had such a rough time this month. She contracted pneumonia and then had some dental problems that made the whole month miserable. Add to that everyone of us but Kate were sick. I had bronchitis, Kayla caught the same bacteria that clobbered Trish, and everyone else had a chest cold. It was downright miserable. So, this weekend was a "let's get out and celebrate 'cuz we're feeling better and the weather's great" kind of weekend. Trish was still feeling under the weather and so was little Lex-Lex so I took the kids on a hike.

The goal was the V, a local landmark, which appears prominently in the picture. We started at Cheese park where we ate a picnic lunch and began our hike. Sar was in the kiddie backpack I have. We walked for half and hour when she got sick of it and said, "I wanna walk!"

So, with a bit of apprehension I let the little tyke get out and start hiking with the rest of the family. An hour and a half later when we reached the summit she was doing the victory dance. It was amazing. I've heard stories a la Doug about Tricia when she was a little girl hiking and not allowing anyone to help her. It was uncanny the way Sara inherited her mother's determination, but these very words came from that sweet little girl's lips: "No! I do it myself." She wouldn't let me hold her hand but had to walk all by herself. And this was no light weight 2 year old hike. She was on hands and knees at times. There were a couple of times when she did stop and say, "I can't do it" and then reach her tiny hand to mine, but those were few moments. Most of the time Sara was spurring Katie on with encouraging words like, "Come on Katie, you can do it." And repeated statements of "No, do myself."

At one point in the hike we stopped to talk. We were in a particularly steep and beautiful gully. We stopped to catch our breath. We talked about accomplishments in life. "There are moments like this when getting what you want cannot be purchased with money or given to you. You can only have a view like this if you earn it, pay the price to see it. And no one can take if from you. It is such an accomplishment because you know you got yourself where you are and it is special." It was a precious moment.

After our lesson we hit the hardest part of the climb. It really was steep. All the children had thoughts of quiting. We pushed hard. I hoped it was our final moment and the summit was just over the crest of the hill we were traversing. Thank heaven it was. They all danced and shouted with excitement. Sara was singing and shouting, "I did it. Sara did it!" holding her arms up in a victory V in celebration.

For Brandon the hardest moment was yet to come. As we marched steadily along the ridge of the hill along a single track we came to the deepest ravine of the hike. The children were terrified and said we could not make the passage. I could see why they would feel afraid, yet there was no danger as long as they stayed on the path. But Brandon felt particularly vulnerable. In fact he began to run for the suburban (even though it was an hour and a half's hike away). This was another teaching moment. "You've climbed tougher hills than this," I said. "I have?" "Yes, you can do this Brand." He mustered his courage and followed his little sister Sara who passed him saying, "I not go back Bubbie; I climbing." Tears streaming down his face Brandon faced his fears and pressed forward. Soon grin replaced grimace as he raced ahead of the pack to our final destination. We made it! All hoofed their way up a tremendously challenging day hike to a splendid view of the valley from North to South. Wow, what an experience.

After celebrating and enjoying the view we hiked the last 75 feet up the hill to sit at the feet of the mighty V and smile the biggest smile I think I've ever seen those children express. They were thrilled. As we walked back to the suburban we sang and talked about our conquest. We thought of every word we could to describe the day...thrilling, adventurous, exciting, challenging, daring, dangerous, and victorious. While kneeling beside the V Hannah found a piece of the concrete that was broken free. We took it home with us. That piece of rock has become a family heirloom.

While walking to the Suburban we talked about what we could do to celebrate our victory. We finally made it back to our vehicle and went to Arctic Circle where we ate huge ice cream cones and giant Oreo cookie shakes. All today are still feeling the thrill of victory.