I Took My Daughter On Hawaii's Most Challenging Hike. This Is What I Learned

I woke up after very little sleep with an irresistible urge to do a hike that had caught my eye while on the island of Oahu.

I don't like to admit this, but with an almost two year old who still is obsessed with around the clock breastfeeding, and a four year old who still LOVES to run to mommy and daddy's bed at 3 am to "snuggle", I don't sleep enough.

I just don't.

And as a wellness coach, I of course would love to get at least 7 hours of sleep, and always aim to convince my clients to do the same, but let's be honest:

I have four. Young. Children. A lot to do. That ain't happening in this season.

And that's alright!

But I digress.

I woke up this day feeling I could easily go back to bed for another 3 hours. Immanuel (my baby) was snoring ever so peacefully right next to me and the desire to retreat was strong.

But that annoying (or motivating?) voice in my head urged... Get up, Monica! This is your one life! Go do that hike! You know how fun a good sweat would be! C'monnn....."

And before ya know it, I guzzled some coffee, washed my face, got dressed and asked hubby to watch the babes while mom ACTUALLY took time alone for self care. #proudofme

And lo and behold, my beautiful, loving Ariel walks towards me as I'm grabbing my car keys, rubbing her eyes after just waking up and says, "Mommy, where ya going?"

I told her of my plans and she smiled excitedly saying she wanted to join. I assured her there was no pressure for her to, but I will admit I was overjoyed that she WANTED TO:

*Match with mom (see photos)

and...

Try and complete the hike with a joyful, encouraging attitude

All I could think while doing this hike with my daughter was: how'd I get so lucky? I mean, my daughter LOVES to do all the things I love! Like dancing, hiking, dressing up, matching with mama, etc. etc.

But this is what I most proud of about my girl, and some things I learned about her upon our Hawaii hike completion:

Our kids are so much more resilient than we think. I kept asking Ariel if she needed to go back or stop early and she was adamant about finishing our very steep hike in the scorching sun (my mini David Goggins?). Many strangers stopped us on the way up and down to compliment how impressive it was that an 8 year old could hang with us adults on a trek like so!
Our kids will follow in our footsteps. Ariel has seen me work out, face challenges, cry and get back up, have babies, transform my inner and outer self time and time again. I'm not blowing my own horn here because I'm imperfect (duh), but I can see she has the warrior spirit in her I've had to have in my own life to survive and (now) thrive.
I'm more motivated than ever to give my daughter the best example. I never want to lie to my daughter and say life is easy. It's not. Working out like we did in our hike was a great physical example of how life can test us: can we go all the way up? Will fear get the better of us? Can we adapt and continue? (There was a portion of the trail that literally had a HOLE where you could plunge dozens of feet! We went around on it, but it was still scary!)
Despite not having enough sleep at times (many moms don't get enough, just facts)--it's important to NOT put your life on hold during these precious, challenging seasons. Don't wait until the kids are older to make meaningful memories. Don't waste the day because you think you need 8 perfect hours of sleep. Yes, take care of yourself as best as you can. But in the seasons life is just BUSY? Aim to power through so you don't miss the good ole' days ;)