Sunday we practiced Holbert trail which is the last and most technical of the 4 peaks for this coming Saturday. What an amazing day. I guess if I had to pick a lesson or theme for this experience, I would have to focus on trust. This trail is harder than anything we have ever carried him on. It’s all rocks and for a hiker more of a scrambling situation than a trail. It’s slippery and takes grace to navigate on foot let alone carrying my son in a chair. I had to trust. And more importantly, Anthony had to trust.
As always, taking my lead from my kid, I got comfortable in the hands of our volunteers. I watched as they discussed who would do what, who would watch for what and when it got tricky, what steps were coming up when. There was a lot of exposure. He will need a helmet. And there were some times where he held his body funny trying to compensate for the positions they had him in. We will have to address that with more foam on the chair and carefully placed straps.
All in all, it was a beautifully cohesive experience. Watching the synergy that developed with each step was really a sight to see. Once again, I was reminded that we are stronger as a village and when I hog the responsibility and gravity of the extra work, I rob others of an amazing opportunity to give and by proxy, receive.
Watching Anthony speak and advocate during the hike as to what he needed was awesome. Watching him trust others to meet his needs was a reassurance that I will always have support and so will he. And more importantly, that he will navigate getting that support himself.
My wish for him is that he learn to get all his needs met, physically, emotionally and spiritually. There is apparently no shortage of folks around him for him to connect to for any one of those areas. Although there is much in his life he can’t control, experiences like this hopefully bring home the message to him, there is just as much in his life that he does have power over and he needs to take it.
To paraphrase the poem Invictus, he is the master of his fate, he is the captain of his soul. That lesson applies to me as well. There are so many times I feel so helpless when it comes to our life so I too have the choice to accept the things I cannot change, and pray for the courage to change the things I can. Giving my son opportunities to build trust for others not only empowers him but also helps him learn to be the captain of his life…… and I’m beyond grateful for all those who help support that.
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