On Belay

Dear Laney, 

Some time last year, you developed an interest in rock climbing.  You and your dad would go to the climbing gym together and he would coach you and it was this great little thing y'all did together. In his absence, I've tried to keep that rock rolling because we want to encourage all your active, outdoorsy hobbies. 

I know squat about rock climbing, but I continued taking you to the climbing gym because I wanted to teach you that there's no shame in trying and falling/failing. I know, because I've seen me do it about a million times in front of the man-bun zero-body-fat crowd of hipsters at that gym. I'm still struggling on beginner routes and sometimes I decide I don't have the strength left to climb down, so I'll just let go and fall because how bad could it hurt, really?

We have that talk a lot: that if you're not falling, you're not learning. And every time you fall, you know something new that you didn't know before, even if that thing is that your foot doesn't fit on that rock. 

Still, sometimes, we have a sinking spell.

Hagen comes along sometimes to be "supportive."

He would probably be into rock climbing, too, if he weren't so busy doing...uh...other stuff.

I signed you up for the kids' rock climbing class at the Y, and you learned how to do all kinds of stuff with the ropes, like tie belay knots and rappel. You took the whole thing very seriously - as you should! - and it was such a kick to watch a group of elementary schoolers in harnesses shout "On belay!" to each other.

You came home after these classes and wanted to do knot-tying demonstrations, like this one, for how to tie a figure eight. The funny thing here is that I'd assigned each of you jobs around the house, and one of Hagen's jobs is to let Ella in and out. The dog can never make up her dang mind and frankly, letting her in and out was exhausting me, so I turfed it to Hagen. For this demonstration, you're standing in front of the back door, impeding her exit and stressing her out:

At the culmination of the class, you and your friend Amya got to do a big outdoor climb on the rocky crags near Alberton. 

You were amazing. Cooler and more confident at 7 than I am at 40.

I couldn't be prouder.

Love,
Mom