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 year spring break was like a trial run for our upcoming summer vacation. The kids and I rarely have so much time to choose our our schedules. We all needed the break from our regular routine, but I am glad they have a couple more months of school so I can tweak our vacation plans before summer hits.
1. I quickly found out that I really rely on the time when our older kids are at school to clean, shop and just get ready for upcoming events. I spent quite a bit of time on Monday just cleaning up the crafts and various projects we had completed over break and restocking our refrigerator.
2. Over break I did yoga daily and went on a handful of short runs. I definitely needed the energy boost. I’m excited to keep exercising more frequently this spring and summer so I have the energy to keep up with our kids over summer vacation.
3. I need to give everyone time to transition. A week isn’t a very long time, but I forgot how disruptive this change in routine can be. Instead of diving right into vacation mode, I should have eased our kids into our new routine where all 4 of us are together for longer periods of time.
4. Connect. The school year can really cause everyone to disconnect. We are rushing from one activity to the next. Siblings are spending more and more time apart. And everyone is tired after the school or work day. This break gave our family a wonderful opportunity to reconnect. I’m so grateful that our kids are at an age where a game of UNO or a chapter book can bring us closer together quickly.
Summer is just around the corner. And I’m excited to see what it’ll bring.
