Welcome! I am Christine and I am so glad you are here.
First, a little bit about me…a small-town girl at heart, I now live in suburban Chicago with my husband, two rambunctious sons, and two ill-behaved dogs, a lizard, and a fish. I love cookie dough, naps, and swearing. I dislike cleaning, yoga, and wearing regular pants.
I also like to write things. I am a staff writer for Scary Mommy and a regular contributor to Babble. I’ve also been published on The New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, UUWorld, Redbook, Country Living, Good Housekeeping, and Brain, Child, among others.
I also write words in books sometimes. I am the author of Open Boxes: the gifts of living a full and connected life (a collection of stories that will make you feel really freaking good), and a contributor to I Just Want to Be Perfect (the fourth book in the bestselling I Just Want to Pee Alone series).
As Mark Vonnegut said, “We are here to get each other through this thing, whatever it is.” It is my hope that the stories shared here will help us all get through this thing (whatever it is) with a sense of togetherness. Because the good stuff is better shared, and the shitty things are less shitty when we know we’re not alone.
I would love to hear from you – you can reach me at [email protected].
Some of my favorite posts:
The Five Words I Want to Say to my Mom
The Real Reason We Are Scared to Be Vulnerable
4 Comments
I nominated you for the Liebster award. I really enjoy your reading your blog. So insightful. So beautifully written. http://thehealthymom.net/2012/06/24/hey-does-this-come-with-a-trophy/
Wow! I am honored and humbled. Thank you!
Hi, Christine. I found you through Scary Mommy. Loved your quitting the competition post. I am a writer in Naperville, trying to build my blog/community, Crazy Good Parent, for parents with mental disorders (including post-partum depression.) I would love to connect for a number of reasons: to convince you to write for Crazy Good Parent, to get encouragement and advice on submitting to the “big” blogs, to network in the writing community. At the risk of seeming creepy, I’m a UU, too, with Buddhist leanings. My family and I were active members of Unity Temple in Oak Park and still have good friends in that community. I’m starting to explore getting involved in the DuPage Unitarian Church community.
I look forward to hearning from you.
Janice Lindegard
Hi Christine,
I just wanted to say thanks for sharing who you are – because it’s fucking awesome to know that I am not the only educated working mom of 2 who uses “creative” adjectives to communicate just about everything. While I try to keep it clean around the kiddos (which will likely be a goal that’s never 100% fulfilled), I do not try to “church it up” when it comes to being who I am around seemingly “mature” adults. While I am also totally “out of fucks to give” when it comes to being who I am, I have to admit that I often feel as though I was sent here from some far-away planet where people actually say what they mean. I have some really great girlfriends that I get together with every 4 months or so to drink, errrrr…I mean, have a book club! As time passes I feel as though everyone’s choice of language has gone increasingly “G-rated” while my perspective on the “shitatstrophies” of life have actually brought upon a whole new gusto for being descriptive. I don’t feel judged but I guess I just sometimes feel alone even when I’m surrounded by people including my friends, husband and pretty much everyone else in the world. I wonder sometimes if others are confused or offended by my choice of words, but then I quickly realize that I couldn’t stop being me, even if I wanted to.
Perhaps as people age they become more fearful of going to hell or coming back as a house fly for engaging in “explicit” i.e. HONEST conversation. In my opinion, the word fuck is by far the most honest and perfect descriptive word in the english language and about the only one that sums up everything, both good or bad. Life can be the most fucked-up shitstorm that could have never been imagined or it can be so fucking amazing when my kids make me laugh that it fucking blows my mind. Neither scenario could be summed up adequately without such a fucking perfect word. So, it was so great to read your article about being who you are, no matter what. For the first time in a very long time, I don’t feel quite so alone. Thanks for keeping it real.
Keep on keeping on,
Keely Dickenson