There are a few highpoints that will be difficult to accomplish.  Mt. McKinley, otherwise known as Denali (“The Great One”) is located in Alaska and is the highest mountain peak in North America.

Another one which may prove difficult is Mt. Rainier, an active volcano located in Washington.  At 14,411 feet without a road to the top, this one will be a major adventure to summit.

We all know that some of life’s greatest rewards come after some of the hardest struggles in life.  When facing a task like climbing a tall mountain, we have a path that leads to two choices.  First, we can remove this item from our list of items to do, or second, we can decide to tackle the problem head on.  If you chose the first path, you can stop reading right now.  However, if you chose the second path, you have clearly selected the most difficult outcome, and in the case of climbing a mountain, may put lives in danger.

I know that taking my family on these highpointing adventures may be difficult, but this is the path I have chosen.  Some of these states cost a lot of money.  For some, I need to be really physically fit.  I’ve also decided to factor safety into our choices, by waiting until our children are fully grown (and able to make their own choices) before we tackle the hard states.  If at some point, my kids decide they do not want to come with us, so be it.  That’s their decision to make.  Likewise, if at some point I decide that my body cannot take any more trips to difficult mountains, like Mt. McKinley, I’m okay with that decision too.

Until then, I plan to continue to work on my fitness, to plan trips to visit new states, and to try to enjoy life as much as possible along the way.  Hey, if life was easy, why do people die trying to live it?

To quote some famous lyrics from Garth Brooks in his song “Pushing Up Daisies”, “There are two dates in time that they’ll carve on your stone, and everyone knows what they mean.  What’s more important is the time that is known by that little dash there in between.” 

That’s it, the little dash is all that matters.

So when your kids are screaming in the back seat of a car, and you’d rather tear your hair out than have to stop another fight, just think about that little dash and remember, the live you spend living is all that matters.  Take a deep breath, and remember that you get a new chance tomorrow to try something new.

Go ahead, make the hard choices, and learn to love the consequences.