I’ve known my husband for almost six years, and in that time I’ve repeatedly assured him that I’m an outdoorsy kind of person. I like being out in nature—I like hiking and camping and swimming in mountain lakes. At least, that’s what I’ve told him.
He had no evidence to support my assertion. Never in six years have we been hiking together, or camping together, and we’ve only been biking together on one disastrous occasion through the streets of Brooklyn. It will never be repeated.
But for some deluded reason, I decided hiking would be a perfect way to spend Valentine’s Day. It didn’t really seem like a very romantic thing to do, but I was itching to get out and do something, and now seemed like as good a time as any to prove to my husband that I’m the tough, rugged outdoorsy girl I always said I was.
We drove out of the city to a state park a little ways up the Hudson, and started out on a trail. The climb was steeper and tougher than either of us had anticipated, mostly because it was covered in ice for a good portion of the way up. I am fairly athletic in general, but I’m also horribly clumsy and unsure on my feet. I don’t know why, but I seem to fall over a lot more than most people. That, coupled with a fear of heights, made for some scary moments as we scrambled up boulders.
If I had been on my own, I’m not sure I would have made it to the top, but my husband was exceedingly patient with my fear and hesitancy. Every time I needed help jumping across a gorge or finding a clear path across a stream, he was there to encourage me, and when I thought I was going to slide down a rock, he was there holding out his hand for me, ready to steady me.
When we finally made it to the top of the mountain, we took in the sweeping views of the Hudson Valley and thanked God for the beauty that surrounded us. I also made sure to throw up a prayer of thanks for my husband, the love of my life, who is always there for me, helping me, encouraging me, steadying me as we walk through life together. In the end, hiking turned out to be the perfect way to celebrate that bond that keeps us together through the highs and lows of life.
Beth Adams is the creator and editor of GUIDEPOSTS’ Home to Heather Creek fiction series.
