If you’ve ever hiked in the backcountry to a destination like a waterfall or the summit of a mountain, then you know what a Mountain Moment is. It’s the feeling of completion, of success and accomplishment that come from all the work you just put into something. It’s standing at the top of a peak and looking down at the wilderness below you and knowing that you have conquered something amazing.

The thing is, to have a Mountain Moment, you don’t even need a mountain (though I happen to be partial to standing on top of the world). You just need a goal. Not a to-do list, but a lifelong goal that when you accomplish it, you know it is one of the high points in your life.

I recently had one of these moments, and to make it even better, I get to share it with you. Since I was three years old, I’ve played the violin. I started playing using the Suzuki method, subjecting my parents to years of scratchy “Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star” before I made my way into more melodious songs. A feature piece in the Suzuki method is the Bach Double Violin Concerto. It comes about midway through the ten books that comprise the method and is a really fun duet that all Suzuki students look forward to playing. I have known since the day that Abby was born that one of my Mountain Moments was playing this duet with her, and since she started playing violin (also at age three), she’s heard me playing it. So, without further ado, here is the premiere of our Dad-Daughter Duet. I hope you enjoy.

What figurative or literal mountains are you waiting to climb? I encourage you today to take a first or next step of your journey. In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

If you can’t fly, then run.
If you can’t run, then walk.
If you can’t walk, then crawl.
But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.

Never give up on climbing your mountain, after all, it’s those moments that make life the amazing thing that it is.