September 17 - 23, 2017

My 40th birthday week started out with my favorite family activity and ended up being our favorite hike to date. Black Balsam has a reputation for being Shire-like, and it did not disappoint. The lush greenness, the blue ridges, and the rolling hills owned us from the moment we arrived. Much of the path was narrow and rocky, and my contemplative self couldn't help but think about how fitting a picture it was for how life often feels for me. So often I feel as though I'm trudging uphill, and the way is closed in, and I have to keep my head down and focus so that I don't stumble and trip. And then, just as I'm finding it hard to keep catching my breath, I reach a ridge and everything opens up and a beautiful scene is before me like a glimmering reminder of hope and beauty. What we couldn't know was that it would turn out to be our last hike for a good while and that steep, narrow, rocky path would prove to be a fitting metaphor for what was ahead. We also couldn't know the beauty that was waiting to unfold.