[at-l] New Found Freedom on the AT!

[thornel@attglobal.net (W F Thorneloe)]

Thank you for the response. You indicated exactly what I anticipated. A 
good marriage has more going for it than simply being joined at the hip. I 
suspect that the communications are more intimate for you two (even if 
seeing each other only once during the hike) than it is for many who never 
leave the city limits without the other. Steve knows how to listen, and you 
know how to talk. I suspect that you are also a good listener to him.

I'd encourage you and Steve to discuss your experiences at RUCKs and 
Gatherings for other couples.

It is rarely a good idea for any intimate relationship to require total 
agreement and demand participation in all endeavors. It is always to good 
idea for adults to share a pair bond, but to have engaging individual 
lives. It helps to maintain the romantic tension and variety, without 
increasing the risk of violation of the pair bond. It requires the very 
challenging chore of maintaining communications - something that TV, 
computers, work, travel, children, the clock, and other items love to invade.

BTW, was "Dumpcannon, PA" a Fruedian slip, an editorial comment on the 
town, or a misspelling?

OrangeBug

At 05:54 PM 1/3/2001 -0500, Ramkitten@aol.com wrote:
>I'm not saying all of that to throw it in anyone's face if they or their
>spouse had issues or problems being away from one another while one of them
>thru-hiked and the other stayed home. I can understand that, but, at the same
>time, I think a good marriage will not only withstand something like that but
>thrive because of it. Steve isn't looking to go away for six months, himself,
>but in the past and in the future I have been and will be there to support
>him in whatever goals and dreams HE has, as well, even if that means I pick
>up more responsibility while he "plays"...if that's what someone wants to
>call it. He says (he's standing right here) that he NEVER thought of it as me
>"playing" in the woods while he toiled here at home.