Yesterday the fire department came to school to introduce the kids to the ladder truck. This is a huge fire truck with a ladder that extends a full 155 feet . You'll never guess who climbed to the top of the extended ladder! No clamp, no helmet -= just nerve - I actually wanted to do it because I am not comfortable with heights.... I wanted to do something that scared me. I wanted to challenge myself in a new way. Let me tell you, it was a challenge. About one quarter of the way up I started to freak out. This was particularly understandable since, before I started the ascent, the fireman was telling me about someone else who had done this who had frozen up - couldn't go up, couldn't go down - they had to "rescue" him! I was doing fine until I got that little speech -- anyway, I started to freak out a bit but then I told myself: breathe, don't look behind, don't look forward, just look straight ahead, and go one rung at a time. Ignore the crowd. Listen to yourself. I got into a rhythm and stayed focused on the climbing. It worked! Good advice for life, heh? 
