Love, Teach, Run

My name is Elissa and this is my first post on my first blog. I thought I would start by explaining the title.  Each of the three words: love, teach, and run are verbs that describe and define me. These are the things I spend my life doing, things in which I find joy. And they will probably all be regular topics on this blog. Here is what they mean to me.

Love

I am a wife to an amazing husband and a mommy to two {mostly} sweet little girls. Almost everything I do all day is an act of love.When I fix breakfast, wipe runny noses, scrub toilets, push tricycles, and give time-outs, I am busy loving my family. I am so grateful for the life we've been blessed with. It isn't always easy. Take, for example, going out to eat. I would be lying if I said I didn't glance at couples talking and sipping margaritas with envy as I cut french fries into bite sized pieces, wipe spills, and pick up crayons off of dirty floors. However, these moments as a family, filled with chaos and laughter, make my life beautiful; they are ones I don't ever want to forget.

Teach

I am a 4th grade teacher. I adore my students and I truly love my job. It is challenging and rewarding and sometimes frustrating, but I feel like it's a job that I was meant to do. Summer is already winding down  (yes, I realize it is only July!) and I will miss my days at home with the girls. But every year I get anxious and excited as a think about meeting a new class and starting a new year. We have three more weeks of summer. I'm just waiting for the school dreams to begin!

Yep, that's me. Dressed as Martha Washington. The things I do for my students...

Run

I am a runner. That, my friends, is a sentence I never thought I would write. It all started last June. Summer break had just started and I had given birth to my youngest daughter 5 months earlier. I sat on the couch thinking that I needed to do something to get active. I called my sister Erin and asked her to do a 5k with me in August. We registered for the race that day, and then there was only one thing left to do, lace on some sneakers and run. I'm pretty sure the first day I could barely run to the end of my street. But I kept at it and after a few weeks I could do a mile. Then two. And finally three. We ran the race in August and it was no ordinary 5k. It was filled with barbed-wire, mud, and flames. But we loved it!

I did two more 5k's that year, and then a 10k in May. Now we are training for our first half marathon. The thought that just over a year ago I could barely make it down the street is very motivating and rewarding for me. Not every run is easy, but I am loving the journey and I'm really starting to feel like a runner.

Thanks for visiting Love, Teach, Run!