Just Don't Quit!!!

I bet you think we have lost our minds, climbing in the trees like that! I can hear my mom saying now, "Just because some French people climb trees, does that mean that you have to too. So if they start jumping off bridges...." We actually had a really great family day. It was John's birthday and we wanted to do something, well, different.

We went to Parc Ecureuil or Park Squirrel, just outside of Clermont. Now I have NEVER been on a ropes course in my life, but I was willing to give it a try. After a brief explanation, in french, and a short walk through of how to connect our harness to the ropes, we were off, ON OUR OWN, to climb. There were patrols stationed throughout the park, but basically you were on your own. The first course we did was a green level course that all of us were old enough and tall enough to handle. It was about 3 to 6 feet off of the ground and not too challenging once we got the hang of it. The first time we went through it took us about 30 minutes to complete it. You begin each section of the course by connecting yourself with two hooks to the upper rope. Each time you move from one section to another, you must unhook your harness, one hook at a time, and reconnect to another rope. The entire time you are connected to a rope and standing on either another rope or a platform or something. Believe me, you are secure! Once we convinced ourselves of that, the second time we completed the same course in about 10 minutes! There is nothing like knowing what to expect next. Even the zip-line at the end was not as bad the second time around.

After lunch, we allowed Lauren and John to climb the orange, childrens' course twice. It was a nice break for us big people and enough of a challenge of them. Lauren had a tough time swinging into a rope configuration that looked like a spiderweb. She was really scared, but we told her, "Just don't quit", and she did it! John's problem was not being scared enough. He would not slow down. He actually slipped and scratched his leg on one of the parts because he was trying to run! But like I said, it was very secure and he was connected to the upper rope the entire time. He thought he was spiderman and really enjoyed the ropes course.

Well, Daniele, Maya, Preston and I decided that we would do the Blue course. This was the course after the "easy" green and we knew that we didn't want to do the red or the black courses. Surely we could handle the green since it is rated for 11 year olds! First of all we started 10 to 15 feet off of the ground and I am sure we went as high as 20 feet! That is high when all you have is a couple of hooks connecting you to a rope! Although you know that you can't fall, it sure looks and feels like you can! That little tarzan swing that Lauren had was nothing compared to the one we had. You could not just lean over and grab the next, you had to swing. Let me tell you, there was a lot of jungle calling and screams that day. To make it worst, there was a group of young kids impatiently waiting on us at every station. There really is no way to pass one another, so they had to wait. We were not going to get through this course in 10 minutes! Each part got progressively challenging and we seemed to get higher in the trees! At one point, Maya would not move. She wanted to get down, but there was no way to get down. She had to finish the course. So we all had to encourage her and talk her through each stage. We just kept saying to her, "Just don't quit!" She took her time and although she was scared, she did it. By the time we got to the last station, the zip-line, we were so happy to see the end, we jumped on it with no hesitation. Needless to say, we didn't do THAT course again!

At the end of the day, I was very proud of everyone in the family. Not only did we have fun, but we tried something very different and challenging and we met our challenge! I reminded the children that sometimes life is like that ropes course. It can be scary and challenging, but God is our harness and no matter how difficult things get, we can't fall. We will finish what we have started if we Just Dont Quit!