Several news reports over the last few months have highlighted the rising popularity among MilSpouses of one not entirely mainstream slammin’ sport: roller derby.
The trend, which has been highlighted by both the Army run paper at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State and the Military Times, got me thinking about what it is we spouses do to keep ourselves sane.
From the Northwest Guardian story:
In the end, roller derby is one of few places where women can kick butt and retain their girliness. Just ask Jess Lundie, an Army spouse who skates as Jess in the Box."There's space for that toughness ... but then you get to wear fishnets and booty shorts and fantastic socks," she said.
Awesome.
For me it’s triathlon. Call me crazy, but I love the dedication to training that mastering three very different, potentially exhausting sports takes. My daily training time is my “me time” -- an escape from everyday life and a time to think and remember. Without it I might just go crazy.
And I can imagine that roller derby is the exact same way. (Has anyone else seen "Whip It?") We all have our own thing that we do to keep the stress of being a military spouse from taking over our brains and lives.
Experts have told us time and again about the importance of physical activity in reducing our stress and keeping us happy -- not just for weight maintenance reasons. I can testify that it does this body and mind good, no doubt about it.
So tell us, spouses, what is it that you do? Maybe you’ll inspire someone else to give it a try.
