Today was just what the doctor ordered. After the busyness of the past couple weeks, it felt good to ease back into my Saturday routine.

It had been several weeks since I’d returned to the mountain for my Saturday hiking routine. I see the mountain every day from my home and office. I am drawn to the mountain. I don’t know how to explain it. Hiking my way to the top is just something I enjoy. I see many of the same faces each week making the same pilgrimage.

Yesterday I invited Megan to join me. She quickly agreed. Honestly, I didn’t expect her to follow through because I didn’t foresee her waking up in time. She is our late-nighter and is last in the family to crawl out of bed. Megan proved me wrong by being the first one awake this morning. I was shocked that I had slept in past 7am. I can’t think of the last time I slept that “late”.

Hiking the mountain with just Megan was special. Paul is my momma’s boy and doesn’t often “allow” me to turn the attention away from him and towards Megan. We hiked up the mountain hand-in-hand while Megan kept the conversation flowing. I was surprised to learn that she was fearful of the height (more so on the trail than at the summit). She was delighted to reach the top, especially when she discovered that she could see Sea World. Going down Megan became less timid and we ran part of the way. Solo hikes may be a thing of the past (at least for a while). Spending time with Megan is totally worth it.