Little Girl, Big Rock

It was February 2000 when Melissa called and asked if I wanted to hike up Yosemite's famous Half Dome. Not one to even blink at a challenge, I heartily accepted. After all, Labor Day was months away, which would give me plenty of time to train. Finally, the catalyst for my healthy lifestyle regime! Having 12 jobs, including one as a restaurant reviewer, kept me busy, but frankly, my clothes were shrinking and I needed an excuse to get back into shape. "THE DOME WILL SAVE ME," I thought, until Labor Day reared its ugly head and I was faced with the reality of getting that call from Melissa. Six months had passed and all I had lifted were pints of beer which made several quick stops at my lips, then rested comfortably at my gut. The only hiking I had done was to climb the stairs at work when the elevator wasn't working. My only hope was that Melissa was in the same boat and we would run out and laugh at our silly scheme over pitchers of margaritas and buckets of nachos. "You better not chicken out on me," she said as I poked around for any sign of giving up. While she hadn't so much as taken a walk around the block the entire time, it was...a "lifelong dream, and I'll go alone if I have to." I think not. A party girl I am, but a prideful one. No way was I going to walk around knowing that she did it and I didn't. No way. I would crawl up that hill if I had to, and I practically did...