No Summit, Week 4: "On top of the world"

And so here we are: at the ending.

Order of Events

I'll be interested to hear what you all think of how the book is structured. It makes a certain amount of sense that the book proceeds in the order of Jordan's mountain climbs - at the same time, the Everest climb felt like such a climax that the final climb seems like an afterthought. I wonder if there could have been another way to structure it so we could end on that high, thrilling note. Or maybe the Vinson climb needed more detail. I found it surprising that there weren't more difficulties or details. How else could the book be structured?

That's the Power of Words

Something I've been thinking about since early on in No Summit is the support we sometimes need to tackle our goals. It's pretty clear to me that Karen and his dad are big supports on Jordan's journey, and there are often times where one of them says just the right thing that helps him keep moving and pushing himself. Could Jordan have completed his goal without the support, encouragement, and even the occasional shove of those two? 

Paul, Karen, Jordan & "King" Richard - image from kbhr933.com

Just as often, though, the words that come back to him are those of the guide on Kilimanjaro ("the mountain wants you to climb it."). This made me stop and think about the power of words. I doubt Samuel said those words thinking that Jordan would remember them for the next five years, but that is indeed what happens. As he's climbing Vinson, those words are coming back to him. Jordan is pretty lucky to have received such supportive, encouraging words from someone.

It made me think about the things we say to each other, the things that stick with us, even if the person saying them didn't mean for them to stay there. Here's a silly example from my life. 

A friend in college said that the way I eat ice cream cones was "disgusting." He said this, gasped, and averted his eyes. Years later (too many to count), that still sticks with me. To this day, I have to feel pretty comfortable with someone to eat ice cream in a cone in public. If I'm alone, no problem. But an offhand remark that someone said years ago still haunts me to this day. Did Joe mean for me to be thinking about this comment long after college? Probably not. If I asked him today, he probably wouldn't even remember the comment. But it has actively changed the way I relate to people (in an admittedly small, strange way).

You're probably guessing where this is going - what are the things we say to each other that don't go away? What are some things friends have said that have helped you in trying times? What about things said that still make you feel hurt, or angry, or bothered? How can we make sure that what we say to each other is positive and supportive? 

That's the thought I want to take away from this book as we start the school year on Wednesday: anything I say could have a bigger impact than I intended. I want to be aware and thoughtful so that those impacts are helpful. Not harmful.

I'll look forward to seeing you all soon! Perhaps even at tomorrow night's open house! 

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get a creemee. 

Three people in front of whom I can eat creemees.