I’m Erin. I’m 35.
I live in Chicago, in the Beverly neighborhood on the far south side of town. I live with my husband, Scott, our daughter, Abigail Grace, and our dog, Glin.
I started this site when I was 23, back when blogs were called online journals, we handed coded everything and GeoCities was where it all happened. Since then, I’ve done the following, in no specific order: switched jobs eight times; got married; divorced; turned 30; lost 50 pounds; had 15 minutes of fame for the blog that documented that weight loss; competed in countless 5ks, several 10ks, a triathlon and a half-marathon; got remarried; was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Disease; published a book; suffered from panic attacks; bought a house; and, most importantly, had a baby.
In all of the years I’ve kept this Web site, I’ve had a few themes run throughout, but mostly I just wrote about what moved me at the time. Now, with a baby, a full-time job and the need to bounce back from a pretty crippling bout of postpartum depression, I’ve decided to take a fresh look to how I live my life and how I use this blog to document it all.
****
I firmly believe that the fastest way for a woman, a mother especially, to take the express train to Breakdownsville is to try to do it all. It is impossible, no one can do that, even with help. So I subscribe to the adage that you can have it all, you just can’t have it all at once. On my first Mother’s Day, I made a pact with myself and chose three things – I call them The Three Pillars because I work in PR and it’s what people like me do – that I would focus on for the year, no more, no less. Not surprisingly, I chose “Family, Health and Work” for the first year. These things are huge, I know, but it means that things such as keeping up my house, taking up a hobby, even maintaining this blog, take a back seat if they don’t directly impact The Three Pillars.
Next year I’ll revisit these things and assess how it all went. I didn’t really place any metrics against these things, just that I don’t try and put much stress on myself if I’m not, say, reading a book a week or some such thing if it means that I don’t get the sleep I need or take me away from time with my husband and kid.
I decided to refocus this blog because after coming out of the fog that was postpartum depression, I felt a renewed sense of purpose for what I wanted my life to really be. Not just for my daughter, but for myself. I deserve to have a healthy, whole life, and what I don’t want to be is one of those people who wakes up ever day and wishes her life looked different. I’m blessed that I was able to earn the life that I have, and I don’t intend on wasting a second of it.
I have no parenting philosophies or agendas. None whatsoever. If I actually subscribe to anything, it is to the Moxie Manifesto. I firmly believe that, with a few huge exceptions, most parents really are doing the best they can. This includes you. I think you’re doing a wonderful job.
I do, however, believe that more than private school, organic purees, and whatever else I’m supposed to be worried about on behalf of my kid, what my daughter most needs is a mother who is present. I want to be present for my life, present for my daughter. This blog is now about being present, and how I’m trying, each day, to maintain that.
****
The blog posts here at ejshea.com will be divided into the following categories: The Three Pillars; Family; Health; Work; Year One Letters to Abigail; and Random. I’m going to do my best to be focused, and not use the random category much but you never know.
In addition to the blog posts, you can see what I’m reading at Goodreads if that’s your thing. I’ve now started a Tumblr, which will keep track of odds and ends that I see throughout the day; Weight Watchers Points Plus combinations/meals; fun quotes and pictures. You can also follow me on Twitter, or on Pinterest, where I’m posting primarily inspirational sayings I stumble on and pretty stuff in general because that seems to be the thing to do with Pinterest. I’m using those things to compliment the content here, and since I joined 2007 and now have an iPhone, I can update those things with greater ease than I can this site.
I also have a link to dailymile, a site I love and adore, if you’d like to read about my workouts each week. I’m going to try and keep much of the diet and exercise talk out of the main blog, but I know I love to read the details about other people’s workouts, so it’s there if that’s your thing. I am following Weight Watchers, and for the first time ever, I can absolutely endorse it wholeheartedly. Even when I used it seven years ago to lose the aforementioned 50 pounds, I didn’t love Weight Watchers as much as I do now. They’ve quit making fruit and vegetables the enemy, which rocks and truly supports healthy eating.
****
Some other things to know: I am a Vice President at Edelman Digital. Everything I talk about here has nothing to do with my job, and I’ll never talk about the details of my work here. I may mention a client or two, and when that happens, I’ll point it out. All of my opinions here are my own, and I won’t be promoting my clients here.
I’ll consider advertising or product reviews, but for the love of God: see above. Do your homework. Please pitch things to me that you think I would actually use or my audience would, too. If you send me a lousy pitch, I will use you as an example of what not to do when I’m talking about the dos and don’ts of blogger outreach.
****
I don’t make any apologizes for what my life looks like. I’m too old to care if you don’t like my hair, or that I don’t breastfeed, or whatever. This blog is meant as a tool for me to capture my life, and I’m not about to not talk about what that life looks like just because someone has an issue with…whatever it is they’ll have an issue with. You can’t win, so I don’t play the game anymore.
So to that end, if you’re going to comment here or send me emails, just to complain about what I write about or me, without anything constructive to say, I will simply delete and ban you. I won’t engage you in debate, I’ll just delete and ban you. There are plenty of people who comment at this site with constructive criticism, and I always welcome spirited discussions. I think reasonable people know the different between the two. If you don’t, you can probably figure out where your comments are headed.
****
I am really honored that you read this Web site. Really and truly. Thanks for stopping by!
