Colin and I both did it. Colin went first. In true spider monkey fashion, he climbed that tree lickety split. Then with a huge smile on his face and without hesitation he zipped.

I followed. All I could think as I climbed that tree was that if Colin could do this, then I had to do it. I couldn’t imagine how Colin did it though. The staples in the tree were so far apart that I, with my 33 inch inseam legs, genuinely struggled. It was also a heck of a lot more exhausting than I expected. Colin made it look easy. I found it a challenge. Not a terrible challenge, but compared to what I saw Colin do, I was surprised I wasn’t able to fly up the tree similarly.

We came back later in the day with Caleb, but because of weather (I think that’s the reason) they changed it to walking across a wire from tree to tree. Caleb was a little disappointed and maybe even a little unsettled at the last-minute switcheroo, but he was still willing.

I should mention that this event is typically reserved for kids older than Colin, but they make an exception for family camp.

After doing it myself, I was worried for Caleb. His legs are even shorter than Colin’s and I didn’t know how he was going to handle this. I worried that he would get frustrated and give up. I wouldn’t blame him either. He has never done anything even remotely close to this before.

Even when given the chance to quit early, and even after saying he was done, he kept going. He did the whole thing. This was SO much harder than the zip line. All you needed to do for that was shimmy your bum off the board after you climbed to the platform. Once you’re up there, it’s the simplest way down, so it’s really pretty easy. What Caleb did took much more determination and perseverance.

There are many things that my children do that make me proud. This one will forever hold a special place in my heart. I know how hard it was and it would have been so easy for Caleb to say it was just too much and to back out at any point. But he didn’t. It’s not only to his credit, but also the supportive, patient camp counselors and all the other campers rooting him on.

Hands down, this was the highlight of the trip for me. I think it’s pretty high up there for Caleb too.