When I was in junior high school, I met a man who had worked as a travel guide for Kilimanjaro climbs. That was the first time I was exposed to this majestic mountain, and immediately the idea of climbing it one day worked its way under my skin. In high school I actually taught myself Swahili, believing that one day I would live in Africa. That was many years ago, and I have yet to set foot on the African continent.
So when I heard about "bucket lists" - Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro was the first thing I put down. 10 years ago I began "talking-up" the idea to my friends and family. Several friends wanted to join me -- but as time has progressed, not many have been able to reserve the time or money for the effort. As I considered who were some of my favorite people in the world -- the people I would want to experience one of the highlights of my life with, I easily thought of my children. I know that as they get older, it will be more and more difficult to collect all of us together in one spot for two weeks to climb a mountain in Africa! The girls will be going to graduate school (medical school) and careers will take precedence -- then the boys will be in college and unable to take 2 weeks off.
