FRG Superstar

Ah, the Army.

I went to my first Family Readiness Group (FRG) meeting Tuesday evening with Luke. Picture a room of about 50 people bracing themselves for all the men to leave and possibly die, a plethora of small, loud children and a woman with a 1-year-old strapped to her chest trying to talk above them and you've got the Charlie Company FRG.

What I saw in that room, though, was the same thing that greeted me that first Sunday in the Fort Lewis chapel -- a lot of people bracing to be hurt and needing love.

My training ground.

If Luke is going to be a chaplain this will be what I tackle everyday, but on a much larger scale. And so I'm determined to dive right in.

You'll recall that Amy does not like .. women. In general. And women's groups even less so.

An FRG is like a women's group on steroids minus Jesus. So cat fighting, status competitions and one-uping each other under tremendous stress of upcoming deployment and potential tragedy.

Awesome.

I better get over myself, and fast.

And thus I am diving in -- not-yet-wife Amy is planning to dive right in. I'm on the list to make meals for people who need them for whatever reason and I'm helping make breakfast (maybe muffins!) for sale (raising money for the FRG) at the motor pool as Luke heads to the field in a few weeks. ...

When I'm a bona fide wife? I smell a perfect opportunity for overcommitment! Man, I thought I was never going to get to do that here. What a relief.