Day 3--Whoa! I need to reset these goals!

Monday March 25 -- Day 3 of hiking

I think that I had a good attitude to start the trail. Bristol was wearing her partially dry hiking boots, and Piper had dry shoes. We went back to the Forestville segment and left my car with the hiking napkin on the dashboard.We completed the Forestville. I repeated myself as we walked, saying that if we had these easier trails the past two days, we would have made better time.

I was starting the hike too early. But, if we waited too long then we couldn´t finish it in time for the new school year. If we waited, the weather would get hotter, more humid, mosquitos would be swarming, and tics would be out. I had been inspired to do this hike as a family since early November when Jeremy mentioned the parts of the trail that we had already hiked. I had been inspired by Annie Weiss as she just recently set a new record, not for women, but for men and women, by running the Ice Age Trail in just 21 days. Can you believe it? And, that was her second attempt. She had to stop during her first attempt as she suffered some type of foot injury /problem. I was overwhelmed as I thought about her running solo on this 1200 mile route.

I wanted my daughters to be part of this excitement. They could certainly finish the trail and be the youngest. You didn´t need to be driven like Annie or myself to do something great to inspire others. You just had to put one step in front of the other, and learn goal-setting as you embarked on a long-term --possibly 5 or 6 month journey.

I had been crabby, though, as Jeremy said that we were done for the day. It was 4 pm on Monday afternoon. The girls rode home with Jeremy, and although I was feeling like I was not even tired, and I craved to let the girls take a 90 minute break, and then get back on the road. I figured we could knock out another 2.5 miles. Jeremy was ultimately right. The girls had a long first weekend, and they needed to be done.

I had lots of time to think on the 2.5 hour drive home. I needed to adjust my goals. I neede to adjust my goals, big time! For the first time, it had clicked. This goal was not mine. I was used to setting goals. And I achieved all but two of them in my life. This was not about me anymore. I was saying that it was about the family. Yet, I hadn´t embraced that until I sat in the car talking aloud to myself. This was about Bristol and Piper reaching the end of the trail. And if we were going to do it as a family, I would need to let them in on the planning and monitor their effort levels. I didn´t want burnout. I wanted them to fall in love with the outdoors. I wanted them to fall in love with God´s backyard, like Jeremy and I had.

I know that I want Bristol, Piper, Jeremy, and I to complete this entire 1200 mile quest together, safely, and remember the family moments that make life worth living along the way. Okay, I actually wanted Bristol to finish first, then have Piper finish. This way they could still set a record that they might someday understand.

#IceAgeTrail #Adventure #Hiking #Outdoors #FamilyGoals