Hands that Hurt

After a love affair of climbing in Flagstaff, Dave's finger tendons are hurt.  He waited a few days for the pain to subside but it didn't.  It was such a crash-after-crescendo situation.  He met a well known climber in Flag, and he was inspired.  They were climbing together and this was exactly what Dave wanted: a mentor to push him.  Well, being the zealot he is, Dave took on too much.  And the edge is so fine with this hand-intensive sport.  After a good day of climbing at "The Pit" Dave decided to try a route that was just out of his league.  It is called "The Joker".  Dave is pretty sure The Joker is what tore his finger tendons.  Of course he is frustrated as we drive from Flagstaff to Boulder Utah, but he was still thinking the hurt would be gone after a three-day rest at Boulder Lodge.  Now as we travel from Boulder Utah to Boulder Colorado Dave is coming to terms with the possibility his hands will need a good long rest. 

As we drive past the rich greenery of the Utah hills Dave turns to me and says, "I am just happy I am on this trip with you.  Now we can spend more time together while my hands heal."  Such a sweet sentiment, but we all know how challenging it is to stay happy and kind when your biggest passion has been pulled from you.  I was thinking so hard about what it takes to stay kind and connected when your hair falls out, when your finer tendons tear on your climbing trip, when you find yourself divorced and alone at age 55, when your house is now worth half what you owe on it and your wife lost her job.   And the thing I realized is that we are all in this together.  And releif comes when we reach out and remind each other of this.  So I reached over and squeezed Dave's shoulder, "I lost my hair, you lost your hands, we're quite the pair!  Let's see if we can enjoy the road to recovery and come out softer than before."

Onward to Boulder CO...