You Can Do It

Wendy Sanders hadn't been nannying all that long, only being in her early thirties, but she'd been babysitting ever since her teenage years. Wendy was the type of woman who was loud and out there, she loved adventure and trying new things, but her latest clients seemed to be the complete opposite. Shy, nervous, insecure and scared, the three Davis girls huddled together and shuddered the first time they had seen her. Given, Wendy could be rather intimidating when she wanted to be. Tall for a woman, at precisely six feet, with a stern looking face upon first glance with demanding dark brown eyes which were usually covered with a large pair of sunglasses.

Wendy was tough. She wouldn't stand for any nonsense, she was strict and believed in pushing the boundaries, and the limits. It was no wonder the three Davis girls were intimidated by her. At 13, 8, and 5, Annie, Eve and Hannah were vulnerable and naive.

So what do you do with three, timid, young girls? You take them out, and you climb a mountain. At least, that was Wendy Sanders' approach. "I can't do it!" Five year old Hannah complained when they hadn't gone all that far yet. Annie, the thirteen year old, took pity on her. "Come here Hannah. You can piggy back a while." She hadn't been there that long, but Annie didn't dare ask Wendy if they might turn around and go back. She got the feeling that if Wendy set out to do something, she wouldn't rest until it was done, no matter what it took. And from her intimidating height and apparent physical strength, Annie couldn't even bring herself to imagine what those measures could be.

Wendy turned around and looked sternly at Annie and Hannah. "Don't carry her Annie." She instructed, and Annie put her sister on the ground again. "She can do it." "No I can't!" Hannah whined. "She's got little legs Wendy. I don't think she could do the whole thing." Annie said, doubting. "Yeah Wendy, why are you making us do this anyway?" Eight year old Eve spoke up. "That's for me to know and you to find out." Wendy answered definitely, beginning to walk again. "Now come on." She said, as she kept working. "We're not losing anyone, and I'm not stopping."

It took them a few hours at a steady pace to reach the top of the mountain. They each picked a rock and sat down, panting for their breath while they looked out at the view. "We're really high up, aren't we?" Eve asked, a little nervous. "You can't get views like this anywhere else!" Wendy said, pleased and content. "So why did we do this?" Hannah asked the same question her sister had asked when they'd been about halfway up the mountain. "Well," Wendy looked meaningfully at the girls. "You did it, didn't ya?" Eve and her sisters nodded timidly. Wendy was scaring them again. "So why did we do it? Annie asked again. "I, we, don't exactly see you point." "To prove it." Wendy said confidently. "Prove what?" "That you could."