My Six Year Old at Mt. Fuji

My shoulders cringed and my stomach tightened when Dr. Romance signed up to climb Mt. Fuji with my SIX year old. I heard him. I refused to believe they were going. Just 33 hours after we arrived in Japan, though, I helped my son get dressed at 3:30 a.m.

My heart was a bit anxious. Climbing Mt. Fuji is a trek many people have on their bucket list. But a six year old is too young for a bucket list. Six years old is a bit earlier than I imagined for my “someday when he is older he can join you” speeches to turn into “yes, he can go.”

Dr. Romance has waited for these days since the first time the ultrasound tech announced “It’s a BOY!” For almost seven years I listened to plans for “somedays.”  I did not know they start now. He still calls me Mommy.

Okay, so it was 3 days before he turned seven. But that still made him SIX.

I helped to stretch clothes over Son1’s limbs. He was folded up in his bed, his body still jet lagged on US time. I ransacked the luggage for snacks and hiking loot. There wasn’t much left after a 7.5 hour flight with three boys. But I handed over what I had, anyway.

Now, just to make sure I completed my motherly duties, I threw out every worst case hiking scenario to Dr. Romance. I demanded his what if plans before they stepped out the door. My quizzing was pointless though. Dr. Romance is strategic and a planner. I wanted to ask for email updates, but I refrained. They were going to the highest mountain in Japan.  I told myself I had to be realistic.  I stood at the door to our hotel room and watched as they walked down the hall in the 3am hour.

But Dr. Romance is very keen to my dreamy and dangerous imagination. He knows my need for peace. So when his email scrolled up into my inbox and I nearly jumped up and hugged the screen. He let me know the three hour bus ride to Mt. Fuji turned into six hours. Traffic out of Tokyo during the holiday week was ugly. The driver skipped the bathroom break at the halfway point, and kept the bus rolling for five straight hours. Finally, they stopped and used a traditional Japanese squatting toilet.

An hour later they finally arrived at the foot of the mountain.

My dynamic duo purchased walking sticks. After I sermoned Dr. Romance on complete safety with my firstborn child’s life, their goal was just to get to the first station. There are nine stations total, and when you reach each station, you pay to have a stamp branded on your stick.

They hit the first station with some ease. They spied the second station in the distance so they kept scaling up.

Many climbers commented that Son1 was brave to climb Mt. Fuji. They only saw one other family with children climbing. Below was the “easy” part of the ascent. This was straight UP!

To protect the climbers from potential landslides huge steel barriers lined the trail.

Dr. Romance and Son1 completed seven of the nine stations to the top of Mt. Fuji!!!  This was at a rest stop. Five stamps are showing on the stick, and two are on the back side.

They started hiking so late, they never made the downward trail at station eight. The bus was scheduled to leave at 9pm, and Dr. Romance wanted no part of a night hike!

They hiked down the trail where hundreds of hikers were still climbing up. They slid down rocks and used the steel the chain to repel down in a few places.

Dr. Romance and Son1 want to hike Mt. Fuji next summer to earn the last stamps on their walking sticks.

Maybe a little part of me is okay with that.