Heights
The other day, I was at the top end of a stepladder and it was only when I was trying to come down that same ladder that I realized how much more challenging it is to descend than it is to ascend . This gave me pause. On my own, I had been able to get the ladder, place it and climb it quite easily. Being on the roof and completing my task of securing a few loose shingles was also straightforward, but getting back down was a different story and that’s where it all fell apart. The ladder was positioned such that I could have, in theory, just climbed down. After all, I had climbed up easily enough. However, stepping off the roof and onto the ladder was too scary for me. The risk of falling seemed enormous. Even though the height between me on the roof and safety on the ground was not more than 12 feet, it may as well have been 100: The ladder was standing on the deck and the deck stands about 20 or so feet above the lake (hence Clifftop Cottage). It was my imagination that...