Misery Meter

We've had some challenging family adventures. I'm all about shaping resilient children so we have slogged, sweated, and sometimes wept our way through some difficult trips. It's just kind of expected so we're all a little disappointed when things are comfortable and easy.

Misery by armpit

I'm recovering from the Sr. High overnighter at John Muir cabin. That means I'm currently on the couch with a glass of wine and the dog. Overnighters take a toll.

Eleven of us headed up in the fresh snowfall that ranged from six inches to a foot and we headed down in sideways rain. There was some grumbling amidst the teens about this being rough. 

Photos courtesy of Cameron Marx

Hannah and I ranked it as a .25 on the Stage-Harvery Misery Meter. Finding our way up with some serious post holing and falling through snow so our boots were caught in muck started to get tedious so it did make it on the meter.

But we've experienced worst. 


I started to tell my little pack of teens stories of Stage-Harvey miseries as we were working our way up to the cabin. Most of them included a part where one of us sat down and refused to keep going.

They were all incredibly thankful not to be in our family, but finding motivation even in the midst of misery is a vital skill in life. There was one point when our gaggle in the back was contemplating snow caves for the night because they didn't want to go any further. 

So, I bribed them with food. If they made it through this patch of woods, then they could have trail mix. I used to carry candy for Elijah for this kind of situation. Just make it through this gnarly part and I'll give you something to eat. 

One young woman commented that she felt like she could keep going now that she'd consumed some chocolate.

The kids made me laugh so hard once we got to the cabin and they were dry and fed. Suddenly they found the energy to play, run around, and even be thankful for the experience.

One of my favorite Bible stories is Elijah under the broom tree. He is miserable, his life is overwhelming, so he curls up under a broom tree and swears to God he is ready to die. So God sends an angel to bring Elijah food. 

Seriously, God's words of comfort through this angel is "Get up and eat." Elijah eats and drinks and then curls up under the tree to die. Again, the angel shakes him, gives him food and says, "Get up and eat for the journey is too much for you." No duh. That's why he wanted to curl up and die.

There are no false promises that it gets easier, God doesn't tell Elijah he's got this, and God doesn't deny Elijah's misery or the difficulty of the task. Get up, have some food and keep going. 

Some of life sucks. There's no way around it and you don't get to curl up on the side of the trail and stay the night. Get up, have something to eat and keep going. We told some great stories, goofy riddles and played games to get through some of the hard parts, but sometimes you just have to eat a little something, put your head down and keep moving forward.

This morning when we looked out the cabin window, it was raining sideways. It looked and felt miserable. Hannah's quip was, "Now this looks like a Stage-Harvey adventure."