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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As a kid I spent a lot of time playing with friends in our sandbox. My parents hid pennies in the sand for us to dig up at birthday parties. My neighbors and I made countless sand castles, rivers, and construction sites over the years.
When our son was a toddler, he spent a lot of time playing in the sand with his friends at the park. Sometimes these outings were quite frustrating for all of us. Older kids took excavators out of toddlers' hands, castles were stepped on, and toys were frequently scattered across the park or lost.
After one exceptionally frustrating park outing, I remember driving our son to Half Moon Bay so he could enjoy the sand in peace and quite. And I asked around for sandy park recommendations and discovered Scott park, a small and surprisingly empty park in Palo Alto with sand. He could happily play in the sand undisturbed.
This week our son and his friend spent two mornings digging in the sand. And as the mornings progressed, the boys were thrilled to be covered in sand and water. It was a great reminder about how important it is for kids to have time to work together and create with sand, water and other natural materials.
Looking back at our son's toddler years, I wish I would have known how enjoyable it would be to watch him collaborating in the sand just a few years down the road. Of course there are still disagreements, but when everyone works together, it's wonderful to see what the kids can create with sand, water, teamwork and imagination.
