Being At The Commonwealth Games.

So, the countdown has begun to 2014 and Glasgow. The end of the Delhi Games was as spectacular as the beginning with lots of great action in between. The last time the Games were in Scotland, I was there. Edinburgh 1986. I was on a placement from College in London and since I was staying in Musselburgh it was a short stop to Meadowbank Stadium for the Athletics.
I recall it well. Seeing one, Ben Johnson, run the 100 metres. Watching the Irish Hammer Thrower, Martin Girvan chuck 4 of his throws into the side netting but still manage to win the competition! (That’s talent!) But the real memory for me was the 10,000 metres. 26 laps.
When the race began it was not long before it became clear that there was a huge discrepancy of talent on show. A couple of runners were gradually becoming detached from the main race. Had it been me, I would have quietly stepped off the track and snuck away. But the two at the back ran manfully on together and kept each other company despite being lapped often. By the time they finished, all the other competitors were having their warm down and showers. It appeared to be embarrassing but when they finished the race they received a bigger cheer than the winner!

It has been said that the hardest part in a marriage is in the middle, when routines are set, habits are formed and we are completely familiar with most things about our partner. We can unwittingly stop making time for one another as we are “engrossed” in all the necessary duties and things to be done. We can take each other for granted. Before we know it we can quietly grow apart. And there may be other reasons – our career has peaked, there are elderly relatives to look after, children may be in the teenage years and in “outer space”, and there might be money issues. Maybe you are not getting on so well either anymore and rather than bale out, you thole it!

Deliberately making time for each other is crucial. If it has been absent then start, not with a huge big holiday where you are still living as strangers but with 10-15 minutes each day just listening and talking and then move on to short dates etc. and time away together. Rekindle the experience of being great company and great craic, as you were in your “walking out” days.
And if things are not going well remember, you committed to being a team, running together and not in opposition, when you made your vows. Help each other across the line as the two athletes did in Edinburgh even if the glory appeared to be somewhere else. Run together, encourage each other on the way.(And beware of confiding your woes to a third party, especially of the opposite sex. That’s a recipe for disaster.)

Mexico, 1968. Out of the cold darkness he came. John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania entered at the far end of the stadium, pain hobbling his every step, his leg bloody and bandaged. The winner of the marathon had been declared over an hour earlier. Only a few spectators remained. But the lone runner pressed on. As he crossed the finish line, the small crowd roared out its appreciation. Afterward, a reporter asked the runner why he had not retired from the race, he answered:
"My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me to finish."

Finish together. Finish well. And leave your children the legacy of a good example, which they, most likely, will follow.

(Recommended Reading: “The 5 love Languages,” / “The 4 Seasons of Marriage” by Gary Chapman Publ. Northfield)