ChosenRebel's Blog

[Letter begins below.]

You’ve probably heard of my husband Dan Crenshaw. He’s beginning his second term as a Republican Congressman from Texas, representing the neighborhoods and communities around Houston.

Before Dan was elected to Congress, he served our country for ten years as a Navy SEAL. It was during Dan’s SEAL training, referred to as BUD/S, that I met Dan.

While Dan was in BUD/S, I needed a challenge… a goal to work towards. So, I decided I would run a marathon.

After two months of preparation, race day arrived. Dan was excited to cheer me on and watch me meet this goal. At mile 19, he jumped on the course to run a few miles with me. Dan wanted the experience of us running the marathon together.

If you’ve ever run a marathon, you come to a point where you hit a mental wall, and your body shuts down. Mine came at mile 23. I could not take one more step, and I told Dan that I didn’t think I could finish.

Dan said, “I am going to put my hand on your back and give you a slight push.” It sounded strange, but at this point, I was willing to try anything. He did. My legs started moving, and I finished the race.

This is called a buddy push. In BUD/S, you are paired up with a buddy, and when you are not able to run one more step, your buddy gives you a push to keep you going.

That day, Dan was my buddy, and we’ve been a team supporting each other ever since.

When Dan was severely injured during his third deployment, I was by his side throughout his recovery, always there to give him a buddy push when needed.

During the long and exhausting days of our first campaign for Congress, Dan and I were there for each other, giving each other a buddy push along the way.