I Want to be a Mountain

The year drew to a close. What would I accomplish in the next?

I looked up at the mountains in the distance. They were white now. Not long ago, they were brown. In the time I've lived in Idaho, I've had the opportunity watch the cycle of seasons make their changes on those mountains I never tire of seeing.

My first sight of them came in September of 2008. The sides of the mountains were painted green with the leaves of sage brush. Near the top were pines. The days moved on. The weather cooled and the rain didn't fall. The leaves browned. The mountain changed.

Fall gave way to winter. I stood in the rain and watched the top of the mountains turn a blinding white. Each week the snow crept further down the slopes and long before the first snows fell in the valley, the mountains were covered with fresh powder. The sun set; the lights on the ski slopes lit the side of the mountains a dazzling white. I'm not a skier, but I imagined the excitement of speeding down the side of those mountains - free, fast, and thrilled.

Winter turned to spring. The snow in the valley disappeared and made its retreat up the slopes until it was gone once again. The weeks passed, the green in the valley flowed steadily up the slopes like a reversed waterfall. The mountains were as I first saw them, green and lush.

On this New Years Eve, the mountains are white again. On New Years Day they will be peppered with the dark dots of the distance skiers as they daringly fall down their slopes.

I saw so many changes, but were they changes? The mountains are never changing. Like people, they only changed coats to fit the weather. They didn't allow outside influences to alter what lie beneath their coats of changing colors. They were always the same. You can have faith in them.

I'm in my third season of life. A little snow has gathered at my peak. Some of the sage brush is gone all together. My clothing changed to fit my seasons. Next year and all my years to follow, I want to be as constant as a mountain. Although my looks change, I want to be reliable. My body will change coats many times, but when my day is done, I want people to say, "No matter what the seasons of life brought, he never changed inside. He never allowed the pressures of the seasons or the weathers of life to change what he was underneath. He was a mountain you could rely on to watch over those who looked up to him."

For this New Year and all the New Years that I have left, whether it is at my job, at home, or with friends and family, I want to be a mountain - reliable.

~ Michael T. Smith ~
<heartsandhumor@gmail.com>

Michael lives in Ohio with his wife Ginny and his stepdaughter's family. You can see a list of Mike's stories here: http://tinyurl.com/moud8u And you can get his stories emailed to you by signing up here: http://tinyurl.com/ldjruh  Let Michael know what you think of his story:  Michael T. Smith

[ by: Michael T. Smith Copyright © 2010, ( heartsandhumor@gmail.com ) -- {used with permission} ]