Adventures in Mountain Climbing.

Once upon a time there was a girl. She was out of shape, which was no surprise to her. She does not make exercise her friend or fitness an acquaintance. She's bad like that.

Well, one morning, this girl & her pal got it in their heads to go hiking. One chilly, cold, windy, miserable, grey morning I might add.

The girl donned her grubby sweats, her under-used sneakers, her happy socks, a little mascara, some lipstick & started on her journey. Up a mountain. (Well, it looked more like a large hill.) But still, it was daunting to the girl.

The girl started out in an amusing mood, taking candid photos as she walked.

But that pretty much ended right when it started. The camera now captured images of pain & distress.

And, yes, that's the girl gasping for precious air in the background:

Oh wait. Another almost-lifeless snapshot of the girl. The girl's pal played the part of paprazzi while her friend turned blotchy red & almost passed out several times. (The girl says "Thanks." I do detect a bit of snarly sarcasm in that expression of gratitude.)

The girl took many, many, many, many, many, many breaks on the way up the mountain. Old men even passed her by. The wildlife mocked her. Giggly fit young girls whispered & pointed in her direction.

By the time the two reached the top, the girl looked like this. It was not pretty. This mountain could have been Everest. It was all the same to the girl.

The girl & her pal talked about making their mark at the peak of this hill-ish mountain. You know, like mountain climbers stake a flag to symoblize their pinnacle achievement? A lone orange-flavored lollipop was all they had. Stuck it right in the ground, those two did.

The girl was really proud. She was proud that she pushed herself to keep on going. She was proud she made it to the end.
But, she was not proud of her slow pace. Or her MANY mini rests along the way. She was not proud of the way she wheezed & panted for air. She was not proud of all the whining & complaining she emitted on the way up.
The she realized, it's not important HOW she got there. It's THAT she got there. This was the hardest thing the girl had done in a long time.
She realized, too, what a super pal she had, who didn't give up on her. Who listened to the chorus of wheezes, pants & complaints the WHOLE WAY UP. I'm sure the pal wanted to push the girl down that tumbleweeed covered hillside more than once.

Before heading down the trail, the girl commemorated the experience in her own way.
She felt happy. And alive!

And now she could experience the beauty of nature...the loveliness of friendship. For she knew tomorrow she would experience...the pain.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: The girl & her pal celebrated their "great" acheievment by downing some pumpkin pie & waffles smothered in peanut butter & syrup.

♥

(The girl would like those interested to know that she hiked up Badger Mountain. And please don't laugh or make fun of her. Because, though you may be able to hop, skip & jump up that wanna-be-mountain, or even moonwalk backwards with your eyes closed all the way to the top....SHE--obviously--cannot.)

THE END