Isn’t it Terrible!

Tomorrow, Sally and her husband Mike were set to make their way to Wales for a couple of days to climb Pen Y Fan – the highest peak in the Brecon Beacons. That was tomorrow. Tonight, they were sat in the kitchen of Mike’s mother’s bungalow, checking all was ok there before they left.

Mike and his mother were, as usual, deep in conversation about people Sally had never even heard of, and Sally’s mind was wandering onto everything she had left to do. It was now 7.30pm. They were planning to leave at 9.00am, and not a single thing had yet been packed.

Suddenly, a comment addressed to Sally by her mother-in-law brought her sharply out of her ponderings: ‘I said……isn’t it terrible?’ What is?’ Sally asked. As soon as the words left her lips, Sally knew she would regret them, because in her mother-in-law’s world, so many things were terrible – the weather, the cost of everything, the state of the countryside, how uncaring people are ……….

In the car on the way home, Sally felt drained and low. Visits to her mother-in-law often left her feeling that way. Her negativity seemed to seep into Sally’s being, until she actually started to find herself thinking that perhaps her mother-in-law was right, and everything was terrible.

The journey the next day was a good one, with a couple of nice breaks. They settled into their B and B, and after a lovely evening meal they went to bed early to get a good sleep before their climb. The following morning, the sun streamed in through the bedroom window – it was going to be a hot one! After a good breakfast, Mike and Sally drove to the foot of Pen Y Fan and started walking.

Sally found the climb challenging. The path was fairly good, but it was three hours of walking uphill in heat, and more than once Sally wondered if she would make it to the summit. Yet make it she did! As well as the huge sense of achievement the climb brought, the views from the summit were totally amazing. Sally and Mike took photos, and Sally spent time reading the messages left on stones in a circle.

At that moment, standing on top of the world, Sally knew for sure that her mother-inlaw was wrong – it isn’t all terrible at all.

The weather was beautiful. The complete experience had cost nothing. The views of the surrounding countryside were indescribably beautiful. And as for uncaring people ……everyone Sally and Mike had met on their climb had smiled at them and given words of encouragement. The messages on the stones at the summit were messages of love, of awe and of pride.

Sometimes, Sally thought, we have to learn to hold onto the positives in life, because there is so much beauty in this world, so many experiences to be enjoyed and so much to be grateful for.

Hazel Wright: hazelwright1801@gmail.com