The Climb

And so it was that my husband and I found ourselves on the road to visit family to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, one day late. We took my car, and my husband packed the trunk with all of the stuff we had promised to bring along, including the pie, the pie, the glorious pie!

We arrived and unpacked the car, only to discover that alas, the pie, while in a pie keeper, had not been completely secured during transport, and it had dripped sticky-sweet cinnamon-brown-sugar-apple-mess all over the blankets in the trunk of my car. This was not a good start to things. My husband tidied up the mess as best he could. The pie, though somewhat less juicy than usual at that point, survived the tragedy pretty well and went on to provide a happy ending to our meal.

Before we ate, though, my mother-in-law had a task she wanted us to help with. We've had some amazing wind storms lately, and something inside the attic, she informed us, was banging and making awful noises. So she and my husband went up to check it out, while I stayed below manning the step-ladder. (Hey, SOMEbody has to guard the house, in case everybody else gets trapped in the attic.)

As they investigated the problem and tried some solutions, I decided that my view of the ladder was interesting enough to warrant a picture. So, clad in my black turtleneck and black velour pants, and my long hair fanned out around me like a halo, I lay on my back on the carpet and took a few shots up the ladder into the attic where they were working.

My husband stepped forward to say something to me and burst out laughing to see me lying on the floor like some kind of Goth version of a fallen Christmas tree angel topper. I imagine the best shot of the day might have been his, of me, lying there flat out on the floor, framed through the attic door and with the stairs between us. But alas, the camera was in my hands, not his. So here's the shot I got. Your imagination will have to give you the rest.

We went on to enjoy a delicious meal together that featured all the crab legs we all could eat, hot and sweet and tender and tasty, and dipped in drawn butter. I had brought along several of my Dancing Girls, hoping to feature them, along with the crab legs, in some sort of Leviathan-type, 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea photo shoot.

However, it was not to be. The crab legs were ensconced in a frozen block of ice before cooking, and after cooking, we fell upon them like wolves without a minute in between for snapshots. And so there are NO pictures, either before or after, of either those delicious crab legs or the Dancing Girls. (My apologies, dear friends; perhaps someday I'll get a chance at that one again.)

We had a very nice visit, and we tried to solve all the world's problems as we talk-talk-talked the afternoon away. I cannot say that we came up with anything specific, but we resolved that for evil to triumph in our world, good people must stand by and do nothing. And since we are not the lazy type of good people, nor the kind to look the other way when evil struts proudly among us, we resolved to continue the good fight, each in our own way.

And then it was time for our visit to conclude, and we packed the stuff back up into the trunk of my car (minus quite a few things, including missing MOST of that glorious pie), and headed home. And then the unpacking occurred again on the other end.

At one point, I was unpacking the back seat of my car and my husband was unpacking the trunk. I heard happy little sounds, and then this: "I am licking your bumper," he said with a smile. It turns out that some apple-cinnamon goodness had dripped onto the car, and he didn't let it go to waste.

In looking back at my day, I realized that the pictures of the ladder were the only photos I took. I will try to see this as an inspiration: looking up the ladder into the light, striving to see the hard work that lies ahead of us as an opportunity rather than a burden. No fear . . . absolutely no fear.

I won't EVER give up in fighting for the things I believe in: I will believe in the good, I will hope for the good, and I will make it the work of my heart and hands to bring it about in this world. I won't give up. And neither should you. Are you feeling strong now? Are you ready for the climb?

with much love from
the GirlWithACamera

The soundtrack: Miley Cyrus, The Climb