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Saturday, October 1, 2011

October Mom of the month

Our mom of the month program honors moms for their efforts to lead healthy lifestyles, and gives us a chance to get to know them better at the same time!

August's Mom of the Month is: Marisa Park! Congrats Marisa!

Marisa has been a member of Stroller Strides since this past spring, and she and her son Christopher have brought great smiles and energy to our classes and playgroups. She has made great strides in her own health and fitness these past several months, and sets a great example to all of us moms, and through Stroller Strides has realized that you can have fun while exercising! She recently joined the fall Running Mamas program, where she went from a beginner runner to making great progress each week, and she'll be completing the Monster Dash 5k on Oct 30th to complete her goal. Join us in congratulating Marisa, and read on to get to know her better!

Hometown: Northern Virginia (Arlington, Chantilly, Centerville) and then Roanoke, Virginia; we moved to Cary when I was 10.

Current part of the Triangle that you live in: Western Cary

Education: I went to UNC-Chapel Hill for undergrad (I double-majored in Comparative Literature and French) and then went to Western Governors University to get my elementary school teaching license.

Stroller Strides Member since: May 2011

Members of your Family: My husband, Chris; our son, Christopher; and our three cats, Annelise, Elwyn, and Perry.

Tell us about your child: Christopher was born September 1, 2010. He is so sweet and loving, and loves to smile at people and hug other kids. He is very busy, active, and inquisitive, and spends all his time figuring out how things work, how to get into things, and running around on the move!

Current/previous Career: I'm a stay-at-home mom now. Before, I worked as a TA and then I got my teaching license a year before Christopher was born. As an elementary school teacher, my favorite grade to teach was fourth.

What was your childhood ambition? I was all over the place. I wanted to be a doctor, a teacher, a ballerina (although that didn't last very long, since I can't dance!), and in high school, I wanted to be a professional soccer player (back when WUSA was still around). It wasn't until my senior year of college, when I volunteered at a local school, that I realized I really did want to become a teacher as my career.

What does motherhood mean to you? Motherhood means I get to show Christopher the world and everything wonderful about it. It means doing everything I can to make sure he has a healthy, happy life. And most importantly, it means I get to watch him grow up and share my life with this amazing little person who means everything to me.

What is the furthest you have been from home? I got to study in Montpellier, France for a month in college, and we went to Arles, Avignon, and Paris while I was there.

What has Stroller Strides done for you? Like several other people have said, Stroller Strides gave me myself back. I didn't have any local mom friends who were around during the day until I joined Stroller Strides, and it has given me a network of moms as well as a playgroup for Christopher. I was always very active before I had Christopher, but was having trouble finding a way (or motivation) to get back into that after he was born—Stroller Strides has gotten me in better shape than I was before I got pregnant and has made it fun, too! I've been having so much fun, I didn't realize how much of a workout I was getting until I was surprised one day by my arms looking different (I thought something was swollen at first, and then I realized it was just muscles I'd never really had before!) and then discovered through Running Mamas how far I could actually run!

What is your favorite exercise? I enjoy anything that makes Christopher laugh—the tickle runs, Five Little Fingers, etc.—because he loves them and trying to make him laugh makes the exercises easier.

What is your proudest moment? My proudest moment would have to be giving birth to Christopher. After that, it would be getting my teaching license—I was fortunate enough to be able to do my student teaching at the same school that I had been working in as a TA, and I got to share that achievement with all my friends and colleagues who had helped me get to that point.

What are three of your favorite things (besides your family!)? Reading, soccer, and spending time with friends.

Tell us something about yourself that would surprise us or makes you unique. I like to write and someday hope to have a book published, although so far the closest I've come is writing the story for a video game that my husband's company made.

If we asked your spouse what they think your best qualities are, what would they say? I guess he would say I'm hard-working, a loving mom, kind, and optimistic.

What advice would you give to moms looking to get back into shape? I would say to find something that you enjoy so you are more likely to keep it up. Also, even though it can be hard to get started, especially when you are so tired from taking care of a little one, exercise actually ends up giving you more energy, so go for it!