"You sure?" said my very outdoorsy and athletic friend. "It's a pretty good climb."
Of course! Can't let a good shoe go to waste. 4 miles straight to the top? That's like walking from the Upper East Side to, what, Soho? Totally doable. Except, like, up.
But what the hell, I'd set the treadmill elevation to 10 before, and I didn't die. Surely I could do this. Plus, you know, the shoes! They were cute and sporty and made me feel official.
Standing at the base of the mountain, my friend pointed to a teeny tiny observation deck at the summit. It was like an ant house. "That's where we're going," she said. And...wow. That was a loooooong way up a steep incline.
"Don't worry," she said, heading up the trail, "there's only one part that's scary*, right at the top."
Well, blog friends, I did pretty well most of the way up. My husband and youngest daughter came, too, and we took it in small steps. I tried not to think about how far I had to go. Just up to that ridge, just across that little stream, we'll take a break at the rock. Much like when tackling a new novel. I'm a slow writer, and if I think too much about how many pages I have to go, forget about it. I freeze. Surely I don't have the chops to write 300 effing pages of story? I'm a short form person, not a novelist--that's too much work. Turns out I can if I just chug along.
And that's what I did.
We made it!
So, how about you? Have you accomplished anything great or small lately?
*OMG. Scary. I almost cried!
11 comments:
Oh, I'm so proud of you. This post made me smile. Especially how you kept mentioning how cute your hiking outfit is, lol.
So glad you went. It's a triumph, for sure, and you've got some nice pix out of it.
Lara--I have to admit, if it weren't for the shoes, I might've backed out.
Jan--Thanks! There are more difficult mountains to climb, certainly, but for me? Huge yay.
Go you! I want to hear about the hike down. To me that's always the hardest part.
My accomplishment? I finished my third draft this weekend and sent it to my beta. I'm hoping that after this it'll be ready to release to the wild!
Love the metaphor! I love hikes like that, especially with a view to look forward to at the end.
Every single time I sit down to write, I tackle my fears.
What's the biggest mountain I ever tackled? Re-learning life, after I went deaf. The way I look at it is this, if that didn't stop me. What's going to stop me from finally getting published... (Hugs)Indigo
Melanie--The "climb" down was in the gondola! We had hiked up a ski run. Congrats on your accomplishment!
Indigo--Wow, that's a much more impressive challenge than climbing a few measley rocks, that's for sure.
i rescued an injured hawk today!! in downtown brooklyn, of all places. that was a crazy story.
Whose the well fit friend in the pic, because I can't tell the difference!
;)
Moonrat--That IS an accomplishment. Good on you.
Ralfast--I'm the read-faced one, barely breathing. She's the one who didn't even break a sweat.
Good for you! It's really amazing to climb, isn't it?
Man, oh, man. I need to listen to this advice. Chug along. I don't have to do everything at once. A little at a time. *phew*
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