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Being a parent is hard. Ask any parent, and they will tell you. I guarantee they will make it sound harder than it is, and then finish with “it’s all worth it.” We make it hard. The basic duties of a parent are not that difficult — feed and clothe your kids, provide shelter, and most importantly, keep them safe.
Keep them safe. It’s basic, it’s evolutionary. Ideally, if your kid is in a dangerous situation, your mind will clear, everything will slow down, and both physical and mental strength will be enhanced.
That’s not how it went for me. I just had this helpless feeling and a knot in the pit of my stomach. The failure to keep my son safe was twisting around down there.
I was at the bottom of the cliff looking up at my 15-year-old boy, who was at the top with all of the rope and limited options on how to get down to safety, to me, and it was my fault.
We started the climb with a good plan. We both had a couple of good climbs. The heat was fading with the day, and the wind had shifted so we were getting a cool breeze off the ocean smelling of salt and sage. The raptors circled at our height, scanning for food below. We planned to finish together on top of the cliff and enjoy a beautiful father/son moment as the sun went down.
Plans have a way of not working out like they’re planned. My son used more rope to get to the top of the last climb than we estimated. He had to climb around a tree to a different route and connect to a different anchor. He was attached…
