Okay. Wow. So if you told me that what would inevitably force me to launch my blog would be a global pandemic, I would’ve thought you were crazy. That stuff doesn’t just happen—that’s the stuff you see in movies. Joke’s on me, because here we are. 🙃 Truth is, living in the days of (insert TV announcer voice here): “the novel Coronavirus”/COVID-19/2020’s evil twin, I wish I watched a lot less of those movies. You know—the ones that revolved around natural disasters/disease/the end of the world/zombies and everything in between. Waking up in a world where you’re greeted with the newest rising total number of COVID cases and deaths, I felt like I was stuck in one of these nightmarish films—only in this one, I’m running away from an invisible monster I can’t see. I’ll happily take Michael Myers and his slow, menacing walk over this virus. When something is intangible, it makes it that much scarier.
Anyway, unless you’ve been living under a rock (or ignorantly avoiding all major news stations for the last few months as I have), you know all about what’s going on in the world at the moment and I don’t have to rehash that for you. So, why are we here? Well, the silver lining of this pandemic is that I have been given time—time I didn’t even know I needed. Time to slow down and to reevaluate things. Little did I know that this virus would be the very reason I would be furloughed for four months from the job where I spent most of my adult life. It’s the place where I met three of my very best friends, as well as my husband Dan, which in turn gave us our daughter Harper. It’s also the place that I prioritized over so many different things over the years; the reason we were late to so many family birthday parties, get-togethers, or had to say no to certain plans and even vacations. I thought my job was my purpose, but as a Type A and having the aforementioned time to reevaluate, I’ve realized that my job was a routine on which I thrived. Not necessarily the actual job itself, but the comfort of the routine.
Suddenly—even with a 2 year old—when you’re not working 6 days a week for 9 hours each day, you find you have more time. Sure, the time fills in somehow every day. Lots of play time chasing after Harper and playing whatever the queen wishes. (FYI: 2 year olds blatantly cheat at hide and seek!) I’ve even learned to cook a few things, too! (If you know me, you know how greatly I’d go out of my way to avoid the kitchen at all costs! Much like Carrie Bradshaw, if I lived on my own, I could guarantee you my oven would be used for sweater storage!) But without having a job to focus on, I’ve not only been able to bond with Harper and teach her things that I can be proud of, but have also found ways to carve out time for myself. I now have time to focus on this website that I’ve been so afraid to make the time for—if this makes any sense at all. Work was almost the distraction that I needed from so many things. I’ve been given time I normally wouldn’t have had to focus on myself and what’s important to me.
So, after years of making excuses, I successfully put off launching my blog for well over six years. Yes, you read that correctly. SIX YEARS. I had become a professional procrastinator. The what-if’s and uncertainties scared me. The thought of failing terrified me more than anything. I have a tendency to worry about the negative instead of imagining the positive—something I’ve been trying to work on with my therapist. But what about the people I could help by letting them realize they’re not alone in a very uncertain time? What about the people like me who felt so lost? What about the people who need to read the lighthearted ramblings of another mom, just to solidify the fact that we’ve all equally lost our shit lately? I could help provide an escape for people who may need it, make a few people laugh, and be a virtual shoulder to cry on. So here we are, much later in life than I wanted and with too few hours in a day to do it all. But I’ll do my best, and I hope that’s good enough for you.
Just so you know, if you’re looking for perfection, you won’t find it here. I’ll be real with you and I’ll always be honest. I’ll never be the woman with perfectly arched eyebrows and flawless makeup. Again, much like my girl Carrie, I’ll never be the woman who can wear white and not spill on it. Within two weeks of having my roots touched up, I can guarantee I’ll have a few stray gray hairs poking out to say hello. I’m far from perfect and never want to portray that image. I’ll likely never have my shit together completely. And you know the best part about that? That it’s okay. Whatever may have brought you to this page, welcome to my little world—the world According to Christina.
All photos by Lauren Listor of Laurel Creative
Kacie says
Christina! I’m embarrassed it’s taken me this long to check out your (gorgeous) blog and get reading. This first post is SO good and SO real, and I am so happy you finally pulled the trigger and launched! Better late than never girlfriend, and I’d argue you’re right on time.
Xo, Kacie | theprettylittlehustler.com