Trail mix in hand

I heard a great piece of advice from a couple who had been married for 60 years on how to have a happy marriage: “Let your spouse’s passions become your passions.” I thought this sounded like pretty fantastic advice and I’ve been trying very hard to make this something I do. Thankfully, David isn’t passionate about bugs or quantum mechanics (Is that a real thing? Well, if it is, it sounds like something I probably wouldn’t enjoy very much), or horror movies. But if he were interested in those things, I would try my darndest to be supportive and involved in them.

David is a pretty simple guy with very cool interests, like climbing mountains, fishing, listening to good music and discovering new microbrews. So I always try to make an effort to grow my passion in these things. I’m glad I’ve taken that advice to heart because it’s allowed me to experience some pretty awesome things with him that I wouldn’t have done otherwise. I’ve seen some breathtaking views from the tops of beautiful mountains, sat by some gorgeous lakes watching him fish, discovered some cool new bands and found a few local beers that I really like. 

Part of my attempt to adopt David’s passions includes hiking a 14er (and by “hiking”, I mean struggling, whining, stomping my feet like a 2 year-old, pouting, and crying frequently on my way up. Ok ok, I’m not that bad, but it’s not exactly a piece of cake to hike one of these monsters…) with David each summer. So far, Evans, Longs, Greys, Beirstadt, and Redcloud have made it on my list of Colorado 14ers I’ve hiked with David. 

This weekend, we chose Shavano and Tabeguache to climb. They are located in the Sawatch range, near Salida. They sit in a truly beautiful part of our state that we were lucky enough to visit for 3 days. We actually attempted Shavano 4 years ago, but got a little lost and wound up turning around. So we were determined to make it this time! Ok, so maybe David was a bit more determined than I was. He wound up making it to the summit, while I sat at about 500 feet below the summit, munching on trail mix (Hey, gimme a break! I was tired! At least I made it 97% of the way up!). 

Not only did he make the summit, but he also went ahead and summited Tabeguache, which is a neighboring 14er. Even though I didn’t summit with him, I still did the best I could and cheered him on, trail mix in hand . 11 hours later, as we walked back to our campsite, hand in hand, I was so thankful to have spent (most of) the day together and thankful that I’ve developed a passion for things that David is passionate about. 

So if you’re looking for a cool challenge to give yourself, try adopting your spouse’s (or fiance’s) interests and passions as your own. You just might surprise yourself with how rewarding and fun it can be (even if it’s quantum mechanics….) to try something new and spend some great time together.

A few pics from our point and shoot…

11 hours later, somehow we’re able to smile through the scraped knees, sunburns and sore feet

Shavano is the one right in the middle