There's One in Every Family

In our family, it's Abe. He's just not that into sweating or fatigue of any kind. Which makes hiking kind of the opposite of Abe's jam.

Honestly, not everyone is going to love everything all the time.

It's Murphy's Law or something. On this particular outing, due to some time mismanagement and a lunch on-the-go of Sweet Tarts and Vitamin Water, our "quick out and back" up Piestewa Peak became more like a battle royale.

And boy, does Abe know his way around a battle.

First of all, Piestewa is NOT a quick out and back (my bad). There is some serious elevation gain, about 1000 ft in one mile. Second, there was sweating, fatigue AND hunger involved. The trifecta of doom.

I figured it would be hard, but worth it, and everybody else really wanted to go. I had underestimated Abe. His pleas to turn around, go back, 'why are we even here's?' were relentless. He even broke into tears a couple of times.

What I had hoped would be a fun Saturday outing was quickly turning in to anything but. Even the occasional passerby had a sympathetic look for me, or a word of encouragement for him.

And while his detestation for the task at hand knows no limits, my patient mother voice has a half-life of about two seconds.

I was losing a battle I had to win, for the sake of the innocent bystanders and the rest of my family members.

I knew a compromise needed to be reached….a truce of sorts. I waved my white flag. A white flag in the form of Pokemon Go.

I'm well aware of the heated opinions on both sides of this popular, fan-crazed phenomenon, and frankly, I'm not proud. One of the reasons to get my family outside is to leave technology behind, but I was desperate. And Abe is obsessed.

And wouldn't you know that at the very top of this hike, the part with that rewarding view, there sits a Poke Stop. I've seen Abe go out of his way, take the long way home, even run barefoot in the snow to the park, to get one more Poke Stop. It's my secret weapon, and I use it sparingly to preserve its power.

While I cannot force anyone to enjoy hiking, the goal is still for everyone to walk away with positive memories. And it worked! There were no smiles, but there were also no tears. A little distraction goes a long way sometimes. Or a really short, really steep way.

But we made it. And the view was rewarding. Something about losing a battle to win the war comes to mind, but I know the war's not over.

The Narrator

This blog was thoughtfully written by Brooke Ewing. You can find her on Instagram @brookenorma.