When you think of a military spouse.. you probably envision that tear-filled, overjoyed, deployment pick up with some kind of country love song playing in the background, like all those homecoming videos you’ve watched. OR… maybe you envision that obese, trailer trash, lazy, wife from those memes that go viral.
But when I think of a military spouse… I think of strength and I think of courage. I know the pain of months and months without your husband or wife. I know the pain of raising children alone, with the understanding that no return IS actually possible. I know the hateful whispers that happen behind your back and I know the kindness of other spouses who step up during the hard times. *yeah, I’m talking about you Karley…bringing us soup when all 3 of my little boys AND myself has the flu during deployment, you the real MVP here*
When I think of the life of a military spouse... I think of thoughtfully prepared dinners that go cold because the shift was delayed. I think of randomly changed shift schedules that leave no time for family life. I think of all the missed family weekends, because “weekend duties” that are supposed to be 12 hours actually turn into 16+. I think of welcome back cakes that didn’t get made because the return was changed, which is in fact the greatest, happiest, thing to get to happen. Ha!
As a military spouse… you get very VERY VERY little say in your own life. That in itself is a sacrifice of this life. You don’t get a say in when or WHERE you uproot your family and move. Something as regular as buying a house to plant family roots is TERRIFYING. Because who knows when you’ll get orders. And then what? Imagine something as simple as grocery shopping child-free because those crazed animals stayed back at home with daddy while you went for the huge 2 week grocery haul... only to get the call mid-way through that you need to come back home right away because your spouse now needs to report for duty on his off day.. because someone, somewhere f*cked up. Yep, that’s happened.
A lot of us Military Spouses (MILSOs) use fitness to find some small form of control in this crazy life. We use fitness to combat the anxieties that come along with this journey. We find control in choosing what we put inside of our bodies. We find control in choosing to make time to go to the gym. We find control in choosing to lift that heavy weight. We find control in choosing to run that extra mile. We find control in choosing to get outside to the park with the kids, to go on a walk, to take a bike ride. We find control in making healthy meals. We find control in putting healthy choices in our carts at the commissary. And thankfully because of Redcon1, we have the ability to choose high-quality supplements (that come from an extremely pro-military company with a massive military appreciation discount)!
The life of a military spouse, while having many hardships, is truly incredible. I wouldn’t choose anything else. Growing up military, then marrying my high school sweetheart who chose to make a life long career out of serving our beautiful country, I truly couldn’t even imagine anything else! The pride for our country and the love that grows through the hard times, is like no other. I am beyond blessed to call myself a military spouse. To Redcon1, thank you for showing so much support to our military and To all my fellow MILSOs out there, Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day!
Amanda Palmer | Redcon1 Elite Athlete | Military Spouse