Take the Hardest Road and Pedal Hard
Could I do it?
Maybe. Maybe not.
I chose the hardest way.
I was four years old, proud rider of a sweet red tricycle, allowed the independence of riding the sidewalk in front of our house.
Breaking the rules, I rode my tricycle farther than I was allowed to go. The freedom, the joy of riding all the way down to our neighbor’s driveway was euphoria I’d never known before.
I had to do it.
Now I had to go back the way I’d come and do it fast if I was ever going to be allowed another freedom ride. I couldn’t face losing independence. I didn’t want to ride in circles on the driveway when I’d enjoyed the open sidewalk.
I looked at my house. I looked at the sidewalk.
The way was steep. A tree had shoved a paver up into a virtual ski jump. That made the ride down thrilling and made the way back look impossible. Make it past that and I was nearly home.
What to do?
I could get off my tricycle, walk it up the jump, and ride the rest of the way. My heart sank. That would be defeat. No one else would know, but I would. I’d know that I’d chickened out.
I turned my tricycle around. I pedaled full force at the obstacle that stood between freedom and tame boredom. I made it halfway up the paver.
I hovered in the tough balance between victory and defeat. I could keep working at this impossible challenge — or I could get off and walk. As long as I made it home safely, I’d be allowed more wild child rides.
I made it.
I’d done the hardest thing I’d ever tried. To this day, I remember the glitter of mocking sidewalk, daring me to summit, goading me to give up. The grass was thick green suburban perfection in the margin between me and the street. Summer sun made me sweat.
I remember being stuck.
I remember being stuck and then deciding I was going to succeed, no matter what it took, no matter what it cost.
That core of unyielding has never changed. I don’t waver between two roads diverging in a wood.
I take the hardest road — and that has made all the difference.*
*Nod to Robert Frost and his poem “The Road Not Taken.”
