Life as a military wife can feel very lonely. Long deployments, TDY's
all over the country, and time in the field can make it feel like you
are always alone. The best way to make it through this life as a
military wife and mother is to have an incredible community around
you.
I have been fortunate enough to have an incredible community while
stationed here at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
I have an incredible family here, none of whom are related to me by
blood. This community is made up of all ethnicities, socioeconomic
backgrounds, and ranks. My ladies are so incredible, they helped me to
recover from my second Cesarean Section with my son Henry while my
husband was deployed over seas. From Bre and Denise sitting with me in
the hospital to Anna babysitting my rowdy 17 month old William, these
ladies were here for me. I came home from the hospital to a full
kitchen, a clean house, and freshly finished laundry all letting me
know I'm not alone.
This is the part where people ask "How did you find this group of friends?"
I met them at the gym. Allow me to explain...
My husband and I have an in-home garage gym that we use as a free
ministry tool to tell people about our faith in Jesus Christ. We
reach out to people in the community to help people strengthen their
bodies and their souls. What started out with one friend working out
with me one time a week has turned into over 200 people coming through
our garage gym in just two short years. Some of these athletes have
become my best friends. From Rachel and her smile, to Anna and her
get-it-done attitude, friendships formed quickly here.
Training with these other military wives gives us a common bond. It is
hard to be fake when you are sucking wind during an AMRAP workout.
It's ok to let the tears stream down your face while you're pushing
the sled, they know you're hurting and they are there for you.
Sweating it out together in the gym helps to level the field and break
down barriers. It allows us to take off the masks that society tells
us to wear and be real with one another. In our gym we have helped one
another with the things all couples deal with: family, fidelity,
finances... And more. But we also help each other with the things only
a military spouse can understand. We hold one another when our soldier
leaves for deployments. We babysit for each other while he is gone on
TDY. We celebrate together when he finally comes home.
In the gym we talk about AMRAP workouts. This is a workout where you
do As Many Rounds As Possible during a set time. A typical AMRAP would
be:
AMRAP in 8 mins
50 Double unders
20 American Kettlebell Swings
5 burpees
1 mile run
This isn't too far from Army life.
And in Army life it can be a 20 year AMRAP.
For us it looks like this:
1 PC's
1 Deployment
4 TDY's
12 Staff Duties
And I can honestly say I don't know if I could do this life as Rxed
(as prescribed for you non-Crossfit speakers) without my AMRAP Wives.
Military life can be incredibly hard, and seemingly unbearably lonely.
But the good news is that it doesn't have to be. Knowing that I have
a group of incredible women who are always there (even during a PCS!)
makes me strong enough to face each new day and whatever the Army may
ask of us next.
Bio:
Morgan is an Army wife currently stationed at Fort Bragg in NC, with her wonderful husband Brian and their sons William and Henry. Morgan is a full-time homemaker that dedicates her free time to ministering to Army wives through Bible studies, one-on-one mentorship and physical training. Morgan writes about her transition out of feminism and into biblical womanhood on her blog www.forgivenformerfeminist.blogspot.com
You can also find her training programs on www.FarrfunctionalFitness.blogspot.com
