Clamber to the Topmost Post

The topmost post was right there, where it had always been, of course, on the brow of the hill. The tallest hill in the verdant, gently undulating landscape. The post had once been brand new, made from the finest Huon timber, standing proud and tall in persistent rain, bright summer sunshine and pristine winter snow.

Now it was both weathered and care-worn, even a little flaky in places. Initials had been carved into the body of the post, which had also been poorly decorated with occasionally inspiring, but mostly mundane and misspelled graffiti. Not much remained of the original, freshly created post, but still it remained standing, pointing the way for intrepid wayfarers.

She stepped slowly from the car. Everything was a little slow these days. Shielding her eyes from the strong, summer sun, she looked upwards. The familiar post, a landmark she remembered from childhood, was still in place. It looked a long way away. It had appeared to be a huge distance from the car park through her child-eyes, but she had gathered up all her fizzing energy and made it to the top, grandpa by her side. As a teen, she had sprinted up, ready for a romantic tryst. As a young mother, she had chased her boys to the top, trying to wear them out. An impossible task. Even in middle age, she had visited regularly, giving her calf muscles a good workout and breathing in the fresh air. But now?

Now, in her late sixties, her love of life, good food and wine, along with forgetting to exercise, had caught up with her. Her joints ached, a deep ache that she knew wasn't going to improve, despite all the ads for remedies, tai-chi walking, and other fads claiming she could feel like she was in her 40s again. She called bullshit on all of that. She wanted to climb the hill, she really did, but she didn't think she could. About to turn around and go back to the car, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, Nan, you can do it. That's what you've always told me. And Dad said it's really important to you. Sorry, I've been a little shit lately, but you know, school."

She looked up at her ridiculously tall teenage grandson, so like his father and smiled. Together they began their ascent, and she felt the years drop away as she focused on her goal.