My husband left me and our 1-year-old daughter for 6 weeks so he could climb Mount Everest

• My husband left for six weeks to climb Mount Everest.
• I was at home with our 1-year-old, and people kept telling me how they would never allow the same.

For six weeks, I went to about a dozen events solo. I barely made it through five minutes before getting asked where my husband, Asher, was.

"He's on Mount Everest," I would say. People automatically assumed I was making a joke and laughed until they saw my earnest, unlaughing face and awkwardly inquired if I was serious.

"Yup, four weeks down, only two more to go!" I usually responded in some variation. "Oh my God, SIX weeks? I would never let my husband do something like that," was a common response I heard again and again.

Leaving for six weeks is a lot, especially when you're leaving behind a very active 1-year-old. I'm no saint, and it bothered me — but I hated hearing the word "let." Joining together in marriage means we're in a partnership, but we're not in control of each other. We're individual people with our own talents and needs. If I wanted to leave for six weeks, whether for business or pleasure, my husband would gladly step up. We support each other.

It's easier without him around in some ways, but harder in others

Sometimes it's easier without him. I don't have to clean up after him, I can have whatever I want for dinner, I can keep the light on as late as I want at night, and there are no disagreements. Everything is done my way.

But in other ways, it's hard.

Taking care of my daughter while simultaneously running my own business and overseeing a remodeling project in our house can be overwhelming. There were days she woke up at 5 a.m., wouldn't nap, and was insanely energetic. I got tired, really tired, and I couldn't turn to my husband and tell him he was on duty. I had to push through and be there for my baby because I was the only one who could.

We had full weeks where we were able to video chat every day, twice a day — yes, there's internet on certain parts of Everest. He was doing his thing, and I was doing mine, and we were able to connect at the start and end of each day. It was amazing. But then there were full weeks where we couldn't communicate at all. He was climbing toward the summit to acclimate or attempt the summit push, and I worried about his safety without updates.

I was worried, but I wouldn't tell him not to do it

At 29,032 feet above sea level, Everest is the tallest mountain in the world. Temperatures can drop as low as minus-76 degrees Fahrenheit, and winds can reach up to 177 miles an hour. It takes an incredible amount of grit, strength, and ambition to summit the mountain.

Seventeen people died on the mountain this year alone.

Do I wish he found another passion? Yes. Do I want him to do this again? Hell, no. But I would never want to squash his passion. I love that he's different, has unique interests, and is willing to work hard to achieve his goals. Despite it being hard, I will always defend him and support his dreams.

We both proved that we are capable of doing more than what we thought

We each have our own Everest, whether it's Asher climbing the tallest mountain in the world despite his fear of heights or me solo parenting for six weeks. I had moments teetering on the edge, just like Asher had moments on the mountain where he was scared, tired, and wanted to give up.

But we did it. We showed ourselves we were capable of more than we thought.

Our daughter started walking while Asher was climbing Everest. It was hard for her to take that first step forward alone without me holding her hand. But she did it. She fell a lot, but she always got back up. She started over, took another step, and put one foot in front of the other. She learned she was capable of more than she realized.

Some days on Everest were harder than others. On some days, solo parenting was harder than others. But if we fell, we picked ourselves up and continued. We moved on. We kept going. One foot in front of the other. One step at a time.

Elianna Perez lives in Florida with her husband and daughter. She's a former CBS national news producer who now runs her own travel-planning and production business, Elianna Mintz Productions.