Inspiring Mothers: Melody

Once a runner starts a family and becomes a mother, you will find many of those qualities it takes to be a successful runner transfer over into motherhood.  Dedication, long-suffering, patience, and planning, just to name a few.  As every runner knows, things don't always go as planned.  Injury set backs, weather, family obligations, work schedule, and just bad days all play into the mix of a runners life.  Same goes for mothers.  While a mother may have everything they need to be successful, it can still be an exhausting and messy job.   Mother's learn to be flexible, expect delays, and to forget about the unnecessary.

After I got married I didn't know how running would fit into a family life.  After running some local road races I became aware of the running moms around me.  I was amazed to learn how these committed mothers manage to fit in their running.  Melody (mother of 4 boys ages one to eight years old) is a role model in my life.  With a competitive running background throughout high school and college, she has enthusiastically maintained fitness by committing to a training schedule while taking care of her busy family of boys!

After graduating college and running for BYU, Melody attended dental hygiene school in Virginia and met her future husband, Jon, who was in dental school.  They married 13 years ago in the Logan LDS Temple.  Melody explains,  "I have always wanted to be a mother and never really remember making a conscious decision about being one.  After I got married we waited a couple years to have our first child and I was so excited when I felt the time was right to start our family."  Melody took some time off from running competitively after college, but after she had her first child, came back better than ever.

With now 4 busy boys, Melody and Jon have really learned to work as a team in fulfilling their different yet complimentary roles.  "We sat down together before we got married and talked very specifically about what our roles would be as husband/wife and dad/mom.  We decided that while I would stay at home and be primarily responsible for the care of the home and children, he would always be there to help me out and do everything I did as well.  He cooks, cleans, changes diapers, combs hair, makes lunches and drives the car pool when he is available... I can't say enough about what he does for our family."

As family is the first priority for Melody, she has tried to plan her days out so running isn't in the way.  "I wake up early to run before the rest of my family is up and going."  Melody is always home by 7:30 am to read scriptures as a family before her husband leaves for work.  "Then the craziness sets in.  I help my oldest two with piano, get the younger ones ready for the day, go over homework from the night before and get the older boys on the bus.  After the older boys get off to school things settle down for a few hours and I can get things done - laundry, cleaning and errands.  I also try to get out of the house and take the younger ones to library, park or on a walk before afternoon nap time."  By 4 pm all the boys are home and ready to take on all of their after school activities such as "practices, games and lessons." 

Eating dinner as a family is Melody's favorite part of the day.  This being very important to Melody and Jon, it takes planning and creativity, especially in stalling the younger "starving" ones, as dinner may not be until 7 pm so that everyone is together.  During dinner everyone gives a recap of the day and "try to dwell on what was the best part of each of our day."  After dinner, a family rule is that everyone helps clean up.  "We clean up dinner together as a family and no one can leave the kitchen until it's clean."   The full day ends with getting the boys ready for bed and books.  Melody and Jon then spend time together before heading to bed.

Finding a balance is something Melody is always conscious of and striving to achieve in her life. She explains, "I think  most mothers feel guilty when they take time to do something for themselves, but I also think it is such an important thing for a mother to keep her own identity in some way.  I try to carve out some time for myself every day, I feel like this makes me a better and happier mom/wife."

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Melody feels a great responsibility to teach her kids the gospel and also how to share the gospel.  Part of their family routine is regular family scripture study and weekly family home evening (FHE).  One thing the boys enjoy doing for FHE is pretending to be missionaries.  "After the lesson we have the boys pin on their plastic future missionary badges and teach us what they learned."

Even more then the formal learning settings, Melody has found her boys are learning all the time from her example and simple teaching opportunities that randomly happen.  These two quotes keep Melody motivated to keep having teaching moments even when she thinks they aren't paying attention or listening:

"Think of the power of our future missionary force if mothers considered their homes as a pre–missionary training center. Then the doctrines of the gospel taught in the MTC would be a review and not a revelation." Julie B. Beck

"The single most important thing you can do to prepare for a call to serve is to become a missionary long before you go on a mission." Elder David Bednar

As a member of the LDS faith, Melody's ultimate goal is for her family to be eternal.  But as some short term goals she wants her boys to "be happy, productive young men that are generous and kind.  I also hope they all choose to serve full time missions for our church, attend and graduate college and get married in the temple.  I am excited to have daughters some day!"

 Melody has been a mother for over 8 years now and what she has learned in that time is priceless.  "It has taught me how to be completely selfless and how to love as God does.  My children are still quite young and I have a lot of say in what they do and choices they make, but I know that no matter what I will always be there for them and love them.  I think what I have learned from parenting and being a mother far exceeds what my children are learning from me."