After the loss of my first marriage, my mortality and vulnerability seemed overwhelming, and I wanted to climb a mountain, Mount Rainier to be specific, before it was too late.
I didn't go to Rainier. Instead, I began collecting quotations about mountains and mountain climbing to explain changes and challenges faced by women which I included in articles and speeches titled "Women Who Climb Mountains." I was writing about myself, of course, because my life at that time was one of change and challenge. Today, two decades later, I am settled with a husband and extended family. My home sits at 8,500 feet in the beautiful Sangre De Christo Mountains in northeastern New Mexico. I have climbed Wheeler, the highest peak in New Mexico, and Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. I have trekked and camped among the peaks of Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Canada, Nepal, and Peru.
My relationship with mountains has changed. Instead of writing about mountains, I commune with them daily. I have not climbed Mount Ranier yet, but I fully intend to do that before my children consign me to the nursing home. It was not too late for me to climb mountains, and I thank God daily for that gift.
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