(April 22, 2018)

Yesterday, Brad and I went to Stone Mountain, NC, and walked the trails to the falls. This trail begins with a lot of stairs, going down, down, down – which takes you to Stone Mountain falls. Then trails take you to the Middle Falls and Lower Falls – and require a lot of up and down hill walking. We took our time getting there, taking pictures and enjoying the views. But then, it was time to go back. I knew that it was going to be a challenge for me. I am overweight, and out of shape. Our legs were tired, and aches were beginning to set in. I was quickly out of breath. Getting back to where we started seemed to take a lot longer than it took to get there. I would go a little ways, and then stop to catch my breath. Brad is in somewhat better shape than me, and was most often walking ahead of me. Then he would have to stop, and let me catch up, waiting patiently until I was ready to take the next series of steps. There is one point, when you are near the top of the falls that is all exposed rock. The trail empties into a large viewing area, and continues from the opposite side of the area. There is a significant grade between the entrance/exit points. Brad had crossed the area, and was waiting on the other side to pick up the trail. As I stood there, and looked across at him, he seemed so far away – too far away. I was tired, I was hurting, and I felt like giving up.

It struck me that marriages have points like this. You start out on level ground, and for some reason, there is a progression downhill. At some point, it can just seem too hard to climb back up. You can drift further and further apart, until the distance between you seems like too much to bridge. It requires determination, and patience – and you’re not sure if you have it in you. Sometimes it requires more patience on the part of one partner, and more stretching on the part of the other.

Yesterday, Brad was the one who required patience, and I was the one who needed to stretch. Sometimes the roles are reversed. I caught my breath again, and then took one step after another. I finally caught up to him. Not long after that, the trail leveled out, and we walked mostly together until we reached our van. It was a good day, even though today we are sore. The trek took it’s toll on us, but the pain will go away. Perhaps we have better toned muscles today than we had two days ago. We definitely have added to our storehouse of shared memories.