I used to just hate being told that. You know that, “everything happens for a reason” that, that! But now that I am back in Boulder, finally recovering from whatever I managed to pick up in Nepal - thanks to some strong antibiotics and western medicine. I am seeing and understanding this expression from more mature eyes.
Yes, everything does happen for a reason. I returned to the US last week, had I not come back I wouldn’t get to see the world turning green and fuzzy as spring arrives. Had I not come back when I did, I wouldn’t have been able to move 19 year old Alex out of his college dorm and supervise all his belongings being stuffed into my small storage unit and apartment. Whew, dodged a bullet on that one. I wouldn’t have been back to see the Olympic torch reach the Everest summit for selfish reasons. I will now be able to return to Nepal and go to Tibet to climb Cho Oyu in August.
And….I wouldn’t have been back to see the CBS Sunday Morning piece that aired this past Sunday.
But most importantly, I wouldn’t have been back to send this message to the hundreds of you who felt compelled to write to me after seeing my story. I wish I had the time and opportunity to write to each and everyone of you personally. Your notes and sentiments, expressions of love and encouragement for my mission have been overwhelming. I have been taking out an hour every evening to read and reread them.
To those of you who wrote to me with MS, my heart goes out to you. It is not an easy diagnosis to accept nor live with. Know that the summit belongs to all of us with and for MS and that you too go up those mountains with me. To the many others who wrote to me with their own burdens and obstacles, listen to the children at the Donald McKay School for they are the future and I think that future looks really bright with these kids leading the way.
And I wouldn’t be back to receive this note from a dear friend.
“Believe everything happens for a reason…If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.”
Climb On!
