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 time of year many people are starting to check items off their summer bucket lists. Some include summer camp experiences like making s’mores, catching a fish, or sleeping in a tent. Some are more focused on improving skills such as learning to swim or ride a bike. Others are focused on traveling to visit friends and relatives.
As the school year was winding down, I wrote our summer plans on a calendar that is now hanging on our wall. Our kids enjoy seeing when we are visiting grandma and grandpa, when we are going to the zoo, the beach, etc.
I also have a list of crafts, science experiments, and other go-to activities for me to turn to when we are in need of inspiration.
When I was looking for summer activities to add to my list, I came across “kindness calendars.” And, while we aren’t doing a full-blown kindness calendar (yet), it reminded me to take a step back and really think about what I want our kids to get out of this summer. I realized I needed to put a bit more attention into more abstract concepts like kindness, sibling bonding, responsibility and honesty.
Our kids are excited to spread kindness this summer by writing letters to grandma, baking cookies for grandpa, and saying “hello” and “thank you” to members of our community.
Everyone’s summer plans look different. But, at the end of the summer, I’m excited to look back and see how much kindness our kids spread and figure out how we can keep the momentum going into the school year.
