Cooper is a Trooper!

I lean a little bit to the “overly protective” side, and have even been accused of “babying” my kids a little. My husband is the opposite. He’s not as bad as the “never too soon to toughen them up type” but he likes to throw challenges in front of our kids “so that they have a chance to surprise themselves when they succeed”. I guess since I’m so careful not to expose them to failure, it’s probably a good thing that he insists that they get to try new things?

A couple of days ago, he announced that he thought that Cooper was ready for his first hike, and that he wanted to take him and Kenzie on the Cecret Lake trail at the top of Alta. Honestly, if I hadn’t accidentally (ahem, Nova) seen how tenaciously Cooper handled a VERY long walk to the post office in Cora, Wyoming a few weeks ago, I would have told husband to go JUMP in Cecret Lake, and to leave my precious little boy out of his he-man endeavors. But the Wyoming eye-opener, coupled with the fact that Cooper’s ears had perked up and he was prancing around in Cooper-like fashion at the prospect of getting to go on a “big boy” outing with Daddy and Kenzie, added up to a reluctant ‘okay’ from Mummy…

I outfitted the kids with good walking shoes (they’ve been wearing Crocs all summer), I made Daddy promise to stop often for drinks, snacks and rests, and they toodled off to start their adventure around 4pm. Poor Derek was devastated to be left behind! He and Cooper are usually in the same boat when it comes to getting left behind with Mummy, but not today! Mummy was left to fret and wring her hands — visions of horrid blisters on Cooper’s feet and Daddy coming home grumpy from having carried Cooper most of the way, and even more paranoid visions of Cooper losing his balance on the rocks on the banks of Cecret Lake and falling in — I had to divert myself, so Derek and I went grocery shopping (he’s been hounding me to buy ‘damanas’ all week!)

Around 7:30, my little troupe of hikers came home, all flushed and beaming with stories to tell (fodder for another post :0). Cooper had one minor slip, that (according to Daddy), anyone might have had on a section of trail with loose shale, and he was a trooper about getting up and carrying on. Apparently, I am a completely paranoid worry-wart!