This is also a wonderful analogy for me. I have been doing a lot of work with ladders recently. Have a great T who is helping me deal with this totally painful and sucky experience.

Some days I feel great - like I'm almost at the top of the board only to hit a snake and slide down. Hopefully I don't slide as far each time I hit a snake.

Most of my snakes hit me when I'm interacting with the stbx. Trying to keep the interaction to a minimum but its hard to do when you have 4 kids together.