Hard work and perseverance are what it takes to climb a mountain both literally and figuratively. Some trails are gentle slopes, others flights of stairs, and still others the metal rungs of a ladder driven into a cliff’s stony face. Finally at the top, the mist clears in the light of the sun and there is the view spread out before you like a banquet. The moment of glory. Made even more precious by the work it took to arrive in that moment. There are always times when I wish JK Rowling’s fantasy of apparating would become a reality and with the wave of a wand I would find myself standing in the moment of glory. But, is it as sweet or even a moment of glory if it is easy to achieve?

I find the most glorious moments of my life to be the ones where I stand breathless and marked by the journey finally seeing all that I have worked and longed for come to pass.