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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When I was in college and completed my first long training group run, I took a selfie. I don’t see that photo very often, but when I stumble upon it I remember how excited, exhausted, and proud I was. We had just run 18 miles and I couldn’t wait to run my first marathon that fall.
This year when I started running and swimming again, I started taking post-workout selfies. I wasn’t trying to track any fitness progress, I just wanted to remember how good I felt after working out. It was great motivation. Seeing the selfies accumulate on my phone reminded me how often I was actually able to sneak in a run and/or a swim. And how exercising truly was becoming a part of my weekly routine again.
With young kids, it is hard to workout daily. And during the holiday season, it becomes even more challenging to squeeze in a workout. But these selfies help me focus on the positives. I don’t see any negative reminders of the days I missed a workout. Whenever I scroll through the photos on my phone I just see my post-workout selfies intermixed with smiling, silly kids who are so excited to celebrate this holiday season.
