[Nevertheless] We Persisted

Melting into my memory-foam covered mattress, I couldn't believe I'd scheduled a hike with friends for the next morning. What was I thinking? I'd been at Epoch Arts for nearly fourteen hours, including our first day of homeschool co-op, buying supplies for the Cafe, and helping in the Cafe during an Open Stage night. Oh, and then driving six teens home before heading home with four of my own, with a teen-requested stop at the grocery store on the way. My body was shot. I prayed I'd at least get a decent amount of sleep.

Awaking the next morning to the realization that there were mere hours until the hike, anxiety seeped into my mind. My husband brought me a small breakfast in bed, I took my morning meds, and then attempted to sit up. Pain coursed through every millimeter of my body. Today was going to be a challenge.

Shuffling to the bathroom, I considered admitting defeat and telling my husband to go without me. Nevertheless, I persisted.

Driving to the trail, I continued to have doubts, not that I let on to my family. I was excited about the hike and had been looking forward to it. I needed this hike for my mental health. It was a gorgeous day. I was going to make this happen. Probably.

As we made our way down a particularly icy path, Coren slipped, fell, and slid downhill a bit. Getting up, he proclaimed he was ok, shortly followed by stating that his knee was a bit sore. Once upon a time, this would have derailed this autistic child's experience. He was a bit shaken up and hurt, nevertheless, he persisted.

Arriving at a fork in the trail, one way led to Boulder Field and a challenging climb up some rocks. The other led across to the trail back to the van. Children voted to go back, adults decided to hike on. Haley, in particular, wasn't thrilled about continuing. Hoping to improve her health and physical stamina in general and in preparation for possibly being part of Leadership and Service at Camp Calumet, she persisted.

Reaching the steep climb ... to the top of the wall of boulders pictured above ... I didn't feel the apprehension I thought I would. Instead, I felt a sense of adventure - and curiosity to see if my body would be able to make it to the top. I admit, it wasn't a pain-free experience, nevertheless, I persisted.

Once at the top, we rested, snacked, then continued on. Alia's ankles were fairly sore by this point, but luckily the trail back to the van wasn't too far off. Each step was painful, nevertheless, she persisted.

Through pain, ice, snow, wind, and lower temperatures than predicted, we all persisted, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in the process. 

Life throws many challenges in our way. How we perceive and deal with those challenges makes all of the difference in our enjoyment of our lives. We could have let pain, cold, uncertainty, and obstacles in our path stop us from enjoying our time together. Nevertheless we chose to prune negativity in order to let amusement, adventure, nature's beauty, and camaraderie frame our experience.