The Mountains We Climb

It’s September 10th, and Nels is 3 days into his ‘Run Across America’. He is “climbing” Yosemite as I write this! Nels has made reference to this run being “chosen suffering.” Although he’s been training for a few years now, today he is going to earn his breakfast, lunch and dinner! He has a great support team (Kerrie & Ella) who will ensure his hydration, caloric intake and physical well-being are expertly managed throughout the day. Once he completes his mileage, an R.V. awaits with an amazing massage therapist (Denise), dinner to refuel and a good night’s sleep. The routine will begin again tomorrow at 3 a.m. on September 11th.

Emails to me from Chris dated 7/31 & 8/2/00:  

“Today, we had a good P.T. (work out). We did a burn-out calisthenic, then a swim/obstacle course. It hurt!! You would jump off this pier, swim about 100 yards, with fins on, climb a rope (using no legs) about 20 ft to the top of another pier, run down the pier, climb three [flights] of stairs, put fins back on, jump about 40 ft into the water, swim about 400 yards, run from the water, up the beach to the pier and start over again!! “3-times”. Well, guess who won, and it is on video to prove it!! I earned breakfast this morning!! Tomorrow we are going to the team guys climbing wall, they have a killer one!! Should be fun! Randy’s wife sent out a tape of that show, “Survivor”, it is pretty funny!! Okay, I’ll quit my soapbox… Oh, I had a caramel macchiato in a Starbucks in the mall last night, and you know why it was good? Because it was raining out!! I’ll be in and out for the next few days, give me your new phone # so I can call before departing this country… Love, Chris”

“Today, went and hiked a trail up to the highest point in Singapore, was fun. On the way back down came across a family of monkeys, they were so cute running around everywhere, carrying out their business of the day. They didn’t mind us watching them, they were probably making fun of us anyway!! Have another day off tomorrow before heading out, not sure what we are going to do yet. Down to about 40 days!! Call you today… Chris”

Rereading my brother’s emails… choosing which one to share… remembering him and how happy he was always makes me smile and laugh! I miss him very much and with each letter, card and email I read, I’m reminded… he’s not coming home. It’s been 13 years, and I’m doing better with my “spirals” now. I’m still wrapping my head around Chris’ last request and Nels commitment to carry it, on foot, through the United States – one step at a time! Today is an especially big day for Nels with a massive elevation climb! 

Although Nels was born with a congenital heart defect/chd, his heart was repaired and he chose to pay it forward. He has biked across the country twice and run numerous long distances to raise awareness and funds to help children born with CHD. Nels has chosen to put in years of training for this current feat to run across America. Chris chose a career in the Navy and chose to leave behind a message for all of us to focus on our military service members who DO come home to their families after deployments (which could be many). His unspoken message to veterans… you do NOT have to do this alone. Those of us who have not served in a war zone don’t get it. We may empathize; we cannot truly understand. If you are a veteran reading this, you can choose to rely on Wounded Warrior Project/WWP – they have incredible resources and will meet you where you are in your journey “home”. This looks different for each service member. As the daughter of a retired Marine, who served two terms in Vietnam, I wish WWP had been around for our family! 

We might not be on the climb with Nels, but all of us have (or will have) symbolic mountains to climb – some chosen and some not. Like the mountains in Yosemite, whose elevation ranges from 2,000 to 13,114 feet, the difficulties in your life may vary. As you face your personal challenges, your uphill climb, I would like to encourage you with lyrics from Joshua Radin’s song, We’re Only Getting Better – “Where are we going, who are we now? Let’s decide. This time you’ve got to make up your mind. This life’s worth living. Get up, we’ve got a ways to go.” 

You’ve got this!