One Foot in Front of the Other

A few weeks ago, my 3 kids (ages 14, 17, and 19), my mom, my sisters, and my nieces and nephew, and I did the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. We hiked Mount Fitz Roy in the Patagonia region of Argentina. I was expecting like a 6-7 hour moderately difficult hike but boy were we wrong! We left before 7 AM on a beautiful, sunny morning all bundled up because it was around 60 degrees. It did not take long to shed all layers and wish we hadn't brought so many clothes because now we had to carry them for the next 12 miles! The first part of the hike was a lot of steps and uphill paths but we had energy so it was all good! There were lots of places to stop and take pictures and enjoy the view. But we knew we should try and keep pushing forward since it was a longer hike. It got hot and thankfully we could drink straight from the cold, running streams. Around mile 5 or 6 the terrain got much more challenging - very steep and rocky. Our group separated and literally we just had to keep telling ourselves to put one foot in front of the other. Quitting and going down would have been just as hard so we kept going. We came upon a sign and thought "Great, we're just about there!" We couldn't believe that the sign said "The Last Kilometer is steep - expect about an hour." Still one hour left!! The last kilometer gains 400 meters in constant switchbacks, has loose gravel, and is the biggest challenge of the whole hike. We did make it and the view was amazing. At this point one of my kids was getting badly sunburned and we were out of water so I didn't want to stay too long. The kids enjoyed taking their shoes off and swimming in the lake. We took some pictures and the whole time I was thinking of my mom. She had trained for this so it was going to be really disappointing if she couldn't make it. I could barely make it so I wouldn't have blamed her. But I should have had more faith! Pretty soon, there she was with my two sisters! I was very proud of her! Every step back down was painful. I made it back with some of the kids over 12 hours after we started. The rest of our group didn't get done until around 10:00 PM if I remember correctly. I told my kids once we were done that if they can do that, they can do ANYTHING in life! We pushed through exhaustion, discomfort (pain, actually!), and doubt. And in the process, we learned a great life lesson that no textbook could ever teacher us. It can be applied to almost anything in life - even homeschooling.

There are days when lessons drag, attitudes flare, and everything feels like an uphill climb. Kids hit hard spots in their work and want to quit. And we parents? We feel it too. Teaching at home sounds lovely in theory, but in real life, it’s messy and exhausting and often thankless.

But here’s the thing: we keep going. One subject at a time. One hard day at a time. We take deep breaths, pray for strength, and keep showing up.

Just like the mountain, homeschooling isn’t always about racing to the top. It’s about the slow, steady, daily effort. The growth that happens along the way. The grit our kids (and we) develop when we don’t give up—even when we really want to.

So if you’re in the thick of it, if today felt like a never-ending uphill hike—hang in there. You’re doing better than you think. And when you finally look back and see how far you’ve come, it’ll all be worth it.

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. And enjoy the views along the way!

If you want more information or have questions about hiking Mount Fitz Roy or vacationing in Argentina, feel free to email me!