About Christine

When I started the Neurotic Optimist blog in 2013, I had just had my third child. The idea happened when I began thinking about how anxious I was with my other two children and how I was trying to find the ability to let go of some of my worries when it came to raising the third. I also had been failing to make time for my writing or any kind of creativity with my other two kids and I knew I had to begin again; I felt compelled to write about the challenges of raising a young family while balancing an identity of myself.

The blog has evolved with me. Though I still struggle with anxiety and depression, I am learning how important it is to have a sense of humor about the things I can’t control. I am constantly healing and growing. Now I write more about my relationships with my children because they now are little people with big personalities. I also write about my relationship with my husband because he’s the other half of the team helping to shape them and he’s the one who will still be here when the kids grow up and begin living their own lives.

It’s also important for me to encourage young mothers to recognize their creativity and purpose and use them, not put them on hold just because they are raising a family. Our children need to see us as individuals rather than a mere extension of them. We need to express our own ideas and beliefs to them so that they can understand a world where the needs and views of others differ from their own. I have the most amazing conversations with my kids when we talk about life and people who are different from us. As mothers (and fathers) we must have the courage to live our truth through creativity. We will live our best life by letting curiosity lead us.