While we were getting free wood chips at the park the other day, Youngest Daughter and I played a game of King of the Mountain. (Actually, that's what I played. She sensibly played Queen of the Mountain.)Have you ever tried climbing a hill of wood chips? It's a challenge even without the reigning monarch of the mountain trying to push you back down. You struggle to get a sturdy foothold, but the earth keeps shifting under your feet, and every step up that you take becomes a slide back down.
Walking sideways doesn't help, leaning forward doesn't help, and when you're almost as tall as the pile, it becomes especially difficult. There's a limit to how high you can get, now matter how big the strides you attempt, and it seems all you accomplish is to make a giant mess.
But there's something to be said for going second and being the younger of the two people trying to get to the top. Once she had the idea, Youngest Daughter's will was indomitable. She tackled the mountain time and again, picked different directions to come from, and slowly but inexorably made her way to the top, laughing all the way and then reveling in her victory.
We shall overcome.
Copyright © 2017 by David Learn. Used with permission.
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