In times of crisis, facing the unknown, not wanting to even consider the worst, enduring a stretch that would make Armstrong snap – that is when you find out what you are made of.ĭuring my last event Diana never wavered, always with me, always praying, always hanging on, sometimes maybe by a thread, but knowing if she stood her ground that maybe, just maybe, I would snap back and be me again. The longest stretch of all is when you let your love go through those automatic doors alone, letting your love stretch to its heart-breaking point. I have had more than my fair share of medical adventures. The biggest test of resiliency is in times of crisis. We were both resilient in accommodating the other’s career choice. But we always supported each other’s ambitions and efforts, and we always recovered from the stresses of the days/weeks/months with Happy Hour/weekend getaways/trips to the beach. I sold real estate, often working late into the night, almost always on weekends, many times spinning my wheels in frustration while a deal unraveled. Teachers are stretched thin every day, spending inordinate amounts of time, unpaid, making sure their little munchkins get the early start they need. When Diana wasn’t busy defending our freedoms, she was teaching Kindergarten. #Stretch armstrong fullIt definitely stretched us as people, but the answer to the question is simple: we knew that we would return to our original shape, that we could adjust temporarily knowing full well that our love “suffers long, and is kind.” It was important that we be able to pursue ourselves, assured that the other had the ability to let the stretch happen. No daily routine together, no shared meals, no gentle touch or kiss. People always asked how we could pull that off, not once but twice, for nearly a year each time. Like the 7,000 mile stretch of Diana’s deployments in the Middle East. And we always rebound back to the default position, like the rubber toy doll named Stretch.īut perhaps our greatest strength has been the ability to be resilient in the face of the Big Stretches of life. #Stretch armstrong tvReading, puzzling, working in the shop, listening to music, writing, shopping, watching dubious TV shows, are all independent activities. In the middle of all that, we stretch out and do our own thing. All told, maybe 6-7 hours together, more if out and about. Dinner is a shared event, reading in bed as well. Happy Hour is a vital component of our time together, and whether in the pool, hot tub, or by the fireplace it is sacred time – no texting, social media, phone calls. Morning coffee (cuppa, we call it) is important to us, and today we played Bananagrams while sipping our joe. Our daily routine means enjoying breakfast (and social media catch-up) together. This is true in the little things as well as the major adversities and changes of a long relationship.Įspecially since retiring from work, we spend a lot of time together. Both of us are comfortable stretching out and being ourselves, while always ready to snap back together as one. Over the course of our time together we have learned to be together, and to be apart. “Love suffers long, and is kind.” 1 Corinthians 13:4 Is it because they do not love each other? Maybe they never did? Or is it because they do not understand a basic fact about love, and how it applies to marriages: We were talking the other day about how some couples just don’t make it, how some seem to never get along, how many marriages are obviously doomed. If you are going to make it, you will need the abilities of a Stretch Armstrong to pull it off. It is impossible to forge a life-long relationship without being resilient. It’s no stretch (pun intended) to say that has taken some serious work, real effort, plenty of bending, pulling, straining to the breaking point. I am headed into thirty-eight years with my wife Diana. Which got me to thinking about love, especially in the relationship sense. Stretching implies a certain resiliency, an ability to recover, a way of springing back, of regaining a steady state. And a cat stretches, then curls up in a ball and goes to sleep, a cat’s natural state. We stretch our imagination to understand what someone is describing and find a place for it in our mind. We stretch the budget to make it to the end of the month, and normalcy. We stretch before a workout to help our muscles recover. It’s not a stretch to say we stretch all the time…īut a key component of stretching is that the goal is always to return to the original point. Sometimes we must stretch our imagination to see things clearly. Many times we are forced to stretch our budget. 1: the ability of something to return to its original size and shape after being compressed or deformedĢ: an ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change
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