On the Saturday before Easter we miraculously didn't have any soccer games. Noah had work, but 5 of our 6 kids were home, no plans, and no one was sick. So we went on a family hike up Castle Rock. We are going on a family vacation at the end of May that will include a lot of hiking. This was a trial run to see how Dane and Eve did. They did awesome. Ran up the whole thing and back down the whole thing.
I decided to help Dane and Eve actually climb up the rock. I did the math and realized I did it by myself with the 4 kids when they were that age. There are so many reasons to let them do things like this that I think are so important for healthy development. I have some of the only teenagers I know that are not crippled with anxiety and depression. I know that can change at any moment and there are lots of factors that contribute to that. But I feel strongly that one of the biggest factors is that I taught and let me children do things like this, even when everyone else around me it was dangerous, or they might get hurt. I have had experiences where I knew it was unsafe and we shouldn't do it. So, unless I feel that, I try to put my own anxieties and fear aside and teach them to "do the hard thing". It was really good for them and reminded me that they need more experiences like this.
The teens also climbed up and went off by themselves to contemplate the purpose of their mortality. haha.
It was a great day.
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