By Cheryl Bac
E-mail Cheryl Bac
About this blog: I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, home cook, marathon runner, and PhD. I recently moved to the Silicon Valley after completing my PhD in Social Psychology and becoming a mother one month apart. Before that, I ran seven marathons incl...
(More)About this blog: I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, home cook, marathon runner, and PhD. I recently moved to the Silicon Valley after completing my PhD in Social Psychology and becoming a mother one month apart. Before that, I ran seven marathons including Chicago and Boston. Exercise is an integral part of my life. I hope to one day go back to long distance running and tackle the New York City Marathon. Right now I run after my one year old son. Although I am a stay-at-home mom, we are rarely "at home." My mom also stayed at home with my brother and me. She warned me that, although rewarding, it can be isolating. So, with her help, I learned the importance of getting out into the community and meeting other mothers. On the rare occasion when I am at home and have a hand or two free, I squeeze in time to scrapbook. As a new mom, many challenges are thrown my way. I hope my opinions, triumphs, and struggles help experienced parents reminisce, new parents cope, and parents-to-be get an honest glimpse of what the first years of motherhood can entail.
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While December is a merry time filled with wonder and happiness, not everything is joyous.
One of our relatives recently spent some time in the hospital after suffering a heart attack. Thankfully many relatives live close enough to visit him. I wish we could do the same. But right now we are sending our love from afar and keeping him in our thoughts.
I was deeply saddened by the news. And, thankfully, was able to quickly find a Christmas movie for our kids to watch while I processed the information.
A day after I heard the news myself, I talked with our son about it. While it may not be the right decision for everyone, I decided to talk with our son about his elderly relative because I wanted him to know why I was sad, on the phone with relatives more often than normal and why I may seem a bit preoccupied. While hospitals and heart attacks are not topics I had planned to talk about this holiday season, I think it is important for our kids to know that even though the holidays are filled with lots of joy, sometimes they are also filled with sadness and a huge range of other emotions.
