Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think my climbing days would be filled with so many Pack 'n Plays, cloth diapers and little hugs. Back in my early twenties they consisted of chalk bags, crash pads, tape and hangover remedies. Now it's all about the juggle and prep. Being a climbing/working Mom means knowing that simple jaunts to the crag or quick sessions in the gym are now replaced with tons of packing, layering, set up and timing. Even when you get a rare opportunity to climb without children you're still always thinking about them and checking in to see how things are going. To some that sounds dreadful, but to share our passion with our children I wouldn't trade it for anything (except maybe some new Sportiva Solutions jk...kind of).
As a young twenty year old, climbing was in and out of my life when I felt like it. Then when I had my daughter, who is now 7, time and passions became different. As soon as she showed interest at the age of 3, I threw her in a harness and got her on the wall. She did great from the get go and from then on it was something we shared. With her it was easy because she was older and loved just being in the gym with all the attention she got (such a ham). My husband and I started taking her climbing outdoors when she was 4 and she had a love/hate relationship with it. She wanted to climb harder grades but was just too little, so you can imagine the frustration for her, but she was feisty! We loved just being able to take her with us making the ascents fun for her and sometimes even turning it into a camping trip. This continued until I got pregnant with my second child. I was determined to keep climbing (safely) as long as my body would allow it and almost made it to my due date (37 weeks prego), when I'm pretty sure my pelvis almost broke in half from my weight. I looked crazy with my big belly sticking through my ever so flattering full-body harness, but I just kept on trucking and it kept my mind and body active while spending the last few moments of peace with my husband and daughter before the chaos that is my son came roaring through! Before we knew it Logan arrived and climbing took a back seat for a bit.
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| 7 Months Pregnant @ Rumney |
Seven weeks went by and I was ready to get back on the wall. From then on it became a balancing act of kids, home, sleep, work and climbing. Fitting in the time to climb is something we had to just figure out. We took our first outdoor trip to The Red in KY when Logan was four months old and boy was it an adventure! Not as much climbing as we were used to there, but still a beautiful trip none the less. We knew if we didn't start taking those trips then, we would never do it. Ten days filled with long drives, thunderstorms that we thought would wash the tent away, beautiful crags and natural sights with our kids. From then on its just been adapting to this lifestyle and climbing as much as we can as hard as we can. Sometimes we get lucky and get some good sessions in and sometimes Logan makes it impossible so we take what we can get. As a 32 year old mother of two I try to stay as dedicated as possible to all aspects of my life. Whether I am projecting 12s on lead or V4s on boulders, I just have to look around and realize how lucky I am to still be able to do this with my family and friends! My passion will always be there along with the drive to climb harder and better, but there is nothing like finishing a climb and looking down to my husband belaying and my kids hanging out. Passions don't have to end when you have kids, it just adds more flavor to the adventure. So to all you climbing Mommies out there, keep on crushing!
As a young twenty year old, climbing was in and out of my life when I felt like it. Then when I had my daughter, who is now 7, time and passions became different. As soon as she showed interest at the age of 3, I threw her in a harness and got her on the wall. She did great from the get go and from then on it was something we shared. With her it was easy because she was older and loved just being in the gym with all the attention she got (such a ham). My husband and I started taking her climbing outdoors when she was 4 and she had a love/hate relationship with it. She wanted to climb harder grades but was just too little, so you can imagine the frustration for her, but she was feisty! We loved just being able to take her with us making the ascents fun for her and sometimes even turning it into a camping trip. This continued until I got pregnant with my second child. I was determined to keep climbing (safely) as long as my body would allow it and almost made it to my due date (37 weeks prego), when I'm pretty sure my pelvis almost broke in half from my weight. I looked crazy with my big belly sticking through my ever so flattering full-body harness, but I just kept on trucking and it kept my mind and body active while spending the last few moments of peace with my husband and daughter before the chaos that is my son came roaring through! Before we knew it Logan arrived and climbing took a back seat for a bit.
Seven weeks went by and I was ready to get back on the wall. From then on it became a balancing act of kids, home, sleep, work and climbing. Fitting in the time to climb is something we had to just figure out. We took our first outdoor trip to The Red in KY when Logan was four months old and boy was it an adventure! Not as much climbing as we were used to there, but still a beautiful trip none the less. We knew if we didn't start taking those trips then, we would never do it. Ten days filled with long drives, thunderstorms that we thought would wash the tent away, beautiful crags and natural sights with our kids. From then on its just been adapting to this lifestyle and climbing as much as we can as hard as we can. Sometimes we get lucky and get some good sessions in and sometimes Logan makes it impossible so we take what we can get. As a 32 year old mother of two I try to stay as dedicated as possible to all aspects of my life. Whether I am projecting 12s on lead or V4s on boulders, I just have to look around and realize how lucky I am to still be able to do this with my family and friends! My passion will always be there along with the drive to climb harder and better, but there is nothing like finishing a climb and looking down to my husband belaying and my kids hanging out. Passions don't have to end when you have kids, it just adds more flavor to the adventure. So to all you climbing Mommies out there, keep on crushing!
Great article! My wife and I are in the same boat (but a little behind) and it is inspiring to see this!
ReplyDeleteNever in my wildest dreams did I ever think my climbing days would be filled with so many Pack 'n Plays, cloth diapers and little hugs. Back in my early twenties they consisted of chalk bags, promotional merchandise
ReplyDeleteSeven weeks went by and I was ready to get back on the wall. From then on it became a balancing act of kids, home, sleep, work and climbing. Fitting in the time to climb is something we had to just figure out. drawstring carrier bags We took our first outdoor trip to The Red in KY when Logan was four months old and boy was it an adventure! Not as much climbing as we were used to there, but still a beautiful trip none the less. We knew if we didn't start taking those trips then, we would never do it
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