Stuck On the Roof

It was the 4th of July and most of the family had already sat down to enjoy their hotdogs, cheeseburgers, and party potatoes. But in the backyard was a little girl, Millie, watching her big brother Gus, as he used their little jungle gym to climb up onto the roof of the house. Gus was always climbing things just to see if he could, the school flagpole, trees, fences, and this time it was the roof.  

He climbed onto the top of the jungle gym and reached for the edge of the roof, then he pulled himself up until he was able to place his foot next his hand and push himself the rest of the way until he could stand. “It looks so easy! If Gus can do it, I bet I can do it.” thought Millie confidently, “I just have to follow the steps I just saw Gus use. If I copy him then it should be just as easy for me." 

Millie isn’t always a competitive child but being one of the youngest, she sometimes wants to impress her family and show them that she can do whatever one of her older siblings can do, that she can prove that she is just as strong and brave as one of them. So, with that thought in mind, she climbed onto the jungle gym and although it was harder for her than it was for her brother, she stretched as far as she could to reach the edge of the roof and pulled herself up just like Gus had and managed to get her foot up next to her hand to hoist herself up the rest of the way.  

Finally on the roof, Millie let out a triumphant “whoo-hoo!” in celebration. She was so proud of herself for being as brave and as strong as her big brother. She looked around at everything below them and felt like she was on top of the world. She was able to see the whole front yard one side of the house, her parents’ cars in the driveway, and when she went back to face the backyard again, she could see the dog in their neighbor’s yard, running along their fence barking happily.  

But unfortunately, the cheering didn’t last long. Because a few minutes after she had climbed up, Gus decided it was time to get down. “Gus, we just got up here!” cried Millie. “I know, but I just wanted to see if I was able to get up here and I can. Now I want to go eat some hotdogs!” Gus told her. He jumped right off the roof back onto the jungle gym like it was the easiest thing in the world leaving Millie to stand there at the edge of the roof looking down and wondering how she was going to get down because from way up there, the ground looked extremely far away.  

“Gus I can’t get down, it’s too far! I’m going to be stuck up here forever!” cried Millie. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you how to get down.” said Gus. Then he started trying to explain to Millie the best way to get back onto the little jungle gym. But Millie was still too scared. It looked so far down, and the jungle gym was small and made of plastic. “What if it breaks when I land on it?” Millie asked Gus. “Okay Millie, I think it’s time to ask for dads help,” he responds.  

Millie watched Gus run inside and tried to wait patiently for her dad to come help. Except her dad wasn’t the only person who came outside, it was the whole family! Millie was so embarrassed. She wanted everyone to think she was tough and now they were going to think she was a baby. Some of her other brothers and sisters were laughing about her being stuck up there and her mom looked worried and asked, “what were you thinking climbing on the roof when you can’t get yourself down?” Of course, Millie had not thought that far ahead in the beginning.  

Finally, Millie’s dad was able to guide her through how to get from the roof to the jungle gym and then down to the ground safe and sound. And even though they may have thought it was funny at first, her siblings cheered for her, happy that she was back safely on the ground again. Her mom gave her a big hug and said “No more climbing on the roof! I was so worried. I’m glad you are safe now.”  

As they all started walking back into the house to finish their dinner, her dad told her “It’s okay that you wanted to be like your brother and try to be as strong as him. But you must remember that Gus is older and bigger and has practiced climbing so many different things, so he knows his limits. He knows right now he is strong enough to climb on and off our roof with the help of the jungle gym, but he wouldn’t be able to climb a mountain yet. You were able to get yourself up, but you weren’t quite practiced enough to get down. And that’s okay. You don’t have to be as strong as Gus yet, you are as strong as Millie and that is perfect for you.”   

Millie thought about what her dad had just said, but she still couldn’t help feeling like a baby for needing his help to get down. “I wasn’t as brave as Gus though. I was too scared to get down,” Millie said sadly. “You were brave enough to climb UP onto the roof, and that was not an easy thing to do. It’s okay to need help, we all need help sometimes. We are all growing and learning every day.” her dad told her. “I just wish I had learned that before I got stuck on the roof.” Millie huffed. “That’s okay, you know it now and you know what they say, ‘it’s better late than never’.” her dad said.  

After that, Millie felt much better because now she understood that it was okay that she needed help and that she wasn’t quite as big and strong as her older brother yet, because she knew that she would get there one day. She knew she had a family who would help her as she grew and learned along the way, and they would cheer for her when she reached her goal in the end. With that in mind, Millie took off for the house to get her own hotdog, that is, if Gus hadn't eaten all of them yet!