Climb at Your Own Pace

Climb at Your Own Pace
            As a kid, I couldn’t move forward fast enough to feel satisfied. I skipped a grade, graduated from high school at age 16, and finished college at 20. I bought a house in San Francisco and quit my corporate management job at age 31. I felt like the world wasn’t logistically set for me to climb up my life goal ladders quickly enough.
            “Patience” was not in my vocabulary.
            Then I had two sons. 
            Parents learn that we can’t always be the top priority. Our personal growth goes to the back burner as we juggle paying the bills, getting kids to school and activities, and keeping everyone fed, bathed and healthy.
            I also learned that not all children develop at the same rate. My first son didn’t start speaking early, but once he started, he was talking about ancient civilizations, astronomical formations, and paleontology eras as a preschooler.
            My second son was ahead of the game with things like manipulating objects in space, but language and other elements of communication eluded him.
            Patience is a quality I cultivated by necessity. Son Sean exhibited many signs of intelligence, but not along typical lines of development. My dream of having complex conversations to communicate with my sons had to take a different form with Sean, who struggles with language.
            Yet he continues to learn and develop, well beyond school age. He is climbing the stairs of life at his own pace, and we as a family are walking alongside him. 
            I continuously learn to appreciate the present moment, and not worry about reaching goals quickly.
            Have you ever felt that you weren’t keeping up with everyone else? Go at the pace that makes sense for you, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes, Saturn Street Stairs-San Francisco Stair Walk, leads readers along a lesser-known stair walk among the many scenic stair walks in San Francisco.
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New this week:
Hike Notes 237: Saturn Street Stairs-San Francisco Stair Walk