Officially Last

I rallied the kids into climbing the Butte today and surprisingly it wasn't so hard. Autumn agreed to a hike the night before and today when I told the boys we were hiking the Butte, they just asked if they could bring along Asa, our neighborhood popcorn selling Boy Scout. The commitment of climbing the Butte also means picking out ice cream upon completion. I didn't even have to say it when I gave the direction to get ready to go, but they knew from our past routine. The truck wasn't even out of the driveway before a voting session on ice cream bars or the 1/2 gallon carton of ice cream was on the table.

We were a couple miles down the road and I realized Gus had on a pair of old slip on shoes with no socks. I refrained from a lecture on preparation, because I had no intention of turning the truck around. However, I could not refrain from adding a few words of caution about climbing on the rocks with those not so sticky loose shoes he has on.

When we reached the parking lot, Wyatt, Asa, and Gus scrambled up the dusty trail. Autumn and I trudged along. Autumn resting enough for me to catch up and then moving forward. About halfway up the 3/4 mile, 800 foot climb, I see Gus walking back down the hill toward me. "Why are you turning around? I asked rather confused. "It's only a little way," he replies. Then adds with confidence, "I know I can keep up with you. Wyatt and Asa are too fast."

So in the end, it didn't matter that the skinny forgetful 6th grader with no socks and worn out sloppy slip on shoes wore the wrong shoes. It is me who now earns the spot as "Officially Last."