Meet Sara, the lady behind The Football Wife, a lifestyle blog about family life, recipes for feeding the “team”, and how she keeps busy during football’s recruiting season. Sara’s married to Tripp Merritt, head football coach at Davidson College. When she’s not cheering on her husband and the Wildcats, you’ll find her knee-deep in motherhood. She’s the proud mother of daughter Ellie, age 3 ½ and is expecting her second, due in 2013.
I had the pleasure of meeting Sara Merritt at a blogger’s conference held in Charlotte earlier this summer. This is the girl you want to pal up with when you walk into a room full of strangers and intimidating people. She walked right on in, introduced herself to people and made anyone around her feel welcome and at home. I quickly realized that this is a girl I want to be friends with.
Turns out, I’m not the only one that wants to pal up with Sara. She’s part of a thriving Life Group through her church, Church of the Good Shepherd, and was kind enough to share with us a few of her favorite experiences with this active groups of families and children. And yes, when they all get together there are 17 kids. Phew.
Q: Finding a community to engage in is so important when you are a new mom. How did you find your life group?
When I was a new mom, I spent a majority of my free time with other new moms in our neighborhood. Slowly, one by one, each family moved away. Last January, on a whim, I decided to try out a new church and when we decided that it was the place for us, we joined a life group.
Q: 17 kids in the group? What’s it like when you all get together?
That number is always changing and doesn't count some of the tweens & teenagers. But when we get together it can get a little rowdy! We also share a meal together when we meet, so we get the kids fed & off to playing again before the adults can relax a bit. We're so grateful when we can meet somewhere with outdoor play space.
Q: What’s your favorite memory from a get-together with your Life Group?
For our Women's Retreat, members of our Life Group & several other ladies from our church went up to Camp Harrison for the weekend. While we were there, I was missing a home football game so I listened to it from my phone in between horseback riding and hiking. After three overtimes, we lost... but I had my girlfriends with me and we did what anyone would do in that situation: we ziplined off a 50 ft. tower. Peer pressure at its best.
Q: What are some of your favorite local spots for playdates?
With so many people going in different directions, we don't always meet up together. Instead, I may meet one mom and her kids at the playground or sneak in a run with another while our kids play at the YMCA.
Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to a new mom, what would it be?
Find a community of people who will love and support you through the ups & downs of motherhood. It does, indeed, take a village. In addition to Sara, the other participating mothers include: Amy, Cynthia, Amy, Karyn, Cheryl, Jennifer
