“Family time” has fluctuated with importance throughout the years.
But my mother insisted.
At least one hike a year, all four of us, that was the rule. When my brother and I were little we didn’t think much of it. We were just glad to get out of the house and to be going for a trip. Then as we aged into young adults, opinions began to change. The hiking trip began to become more of a hassle then intended. My mother learned how hard it can be to plan family time with everyones complicated schedules. We learned that my father is more afraid of heights then he originally let on. I learned in a chubbier phase that I wasn’t in the best shape to be hiking. My brother learned the extent of my whining.
The tradition remained, with much thanks to my mother. Now everyones opinion has changed. Mom still works hard to find the time and dad still freaks at the view from the top, but now my brother and I race to the top. Everyone appreciates the time and conversation spent together, a gift that is becoming less frequent.
My brother moved to Australia three years ago. The view from the top isn’t the same.
But this tradition isn’t finished, just postponed. Mom doesn’t quit that easily.
Vivid snapshot of family life in a single thread–it would benefit from a few more precise details: maybe a vivid specific example of each person’s pet peeve, when dad stepped out on the ledge at Mt Washington…
Do you have an image you can also add to post? you can use same as featured image–and it will also show up in individual post.