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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This is my 7th Mother's Day, and so far every Mother's Day has been very different. The first time, I was pregnant and working on my dissertation. The next was right after we moved to Menlo Park. And on my third Mother's Day, I was pregnant with our daughter and we spent the day in San Francisco.
Although each Mother's Day has been unique in its own way, over the years some traditions have emerged. Our kids bring me an assortment of cards, flowers, jewelry, and/or chocolate. We usually go to a restaurant or order in so I can take a break from cooking. And I try to take some time for myself. Sometimes that means sleeping in, sometimes that means taking an extra long shower. This year, that means going for a run.
Before having kids I loved to run for hours at a time. I never ran very fast, but I loved running far. Running was a time for me to unwind and also work toward a goal - usually a marathon.
Over the past 6 years I've squeezed in a few runs here and there. These runs were very sporadic, much slower than my pre-kid pace, and usually lasted only about 30 minutes. I tried to consistently get up early to run before the kids woke up, but I ended up needing the extra sleep much more than I needed to squeeze in a run.
However, I'm excited to make running a bigger part of my life this year. I don't see any marathons in my near future, but I bought a new pair of running shoes and I hope to gradually start running again. And, someday, maybe one, two or even all three of our kids will join me for a run around the block while I train for a race.
