beyond climbing

Mark and I are coming to the realization that dragging Carter along on everything we want to do may make us not want to do it. For example, we've tried taking Carter with us to celebratory dinners at semi-nice restaurants. After chasing Carter around the place and doing everything we can to get three bites in our mouths before Carter's bored, we end up wishing we could have done drive-through at McDonald's. Climbing, to some extent, has become one of those instances.

The great thing about rock climbing is you pretend you're exercising and doing something hardcore, when really you're just going to lounge in the sun with friends and maybe climb a route or two every once in awhile. Bringing a baby along on an outing like that totally changes it. It's like taking a field trip through a war zone. There are ropes to trip on, pebbles to slip on, and cacti to sit on. It's not quite the relaxing trip you originally set out for. Again, you begin to dream of McDonald's and that great kid-proof playland they've got.

Not having a ton of people to go out climbing with on my own, I went on Craigslist, the resource for absolutely everything, and found a girl who had posted looking for people to climb with. On Thursday after work I met her and some of her friends in Golden (a local sport-climbing mecca). It was great. I had no responsibility other than the climber on the other end of my rope. I climbes some hard routes I've never tried before. I talked with some people who are going mountaineering in Peru next month. We discussed the financial and social situation in Venezuela. I learned about a non-profit organization that helps employ people with barriers.

I'm learning that I really have a need to be around new people who expose me to new ideas and who do not already know everything about me. Of course I wouldn't trade my family and good friends for anything, but a little change every once in awhile is a good thing. It makes me appreciate what I have and also piques my interest about things I had never thought about before. I don't think Mark and I have resigned ourselves to spending every date at McDonald's with Carter, but I'm glad I've found a way to do some carefree climbing. It lifts my spirit.