Work + Projects

My Real Bio

by erin |

Hi, there! If you’ve been visiting this site for any number of minutes, you’ll likely have read my “official” bio. If not, it’s here. It’s the sizzle reel of my career thus far; the big, celebratory moments awash in glitter remnants and golden trophies. (Actually, there are no trophies. Can I get a trophy?)

There are published bylines and international speaking engagements and sold out product lines. And these are real and true and good and exciting, but these accolades, I want you to know – these are not me.

If you come to my house, I’ll forget to tell you where to put your coat or hat or keys because I’ll be ushering you into the kitchen for a drink, some pistachios. I’ll try my hardest not to apologize about the state of my home because I’ve learned enough to know that true friends don’t clean for your arrival. I’ll hope you take the dust bunnies as mascots of your inner circle status. If you don’t, that’s OK. We’ve all got our things.

I’ll want you to sit down and spill it. What are you learning right now? What’s going on with your kids? And where did you get those incredible pants? This means that if you’re coming to my house for a meal, you’ll likely get take-out or a frozen pizza. I cannot simmer or saute or poach while engaged in a conversation, and I’ll always choose the conversation. This also means I’m a naturally poor hostess, often too lost in stories or thought or sentences to notice your glass needs re-filling or the cookies have burned. For this reason, guests must fend for themselves. Sorry about that. Come anyway, please.

We might talk about design or style or beauty, but probably not. I struggle often to justify my love of aesthetics. I love to rearrange furniture and choose lipstick shades and curate art collections and have amassed more than enough statement jewelry over the years, and I sometimes treat these gifts as if they’re burdens. I sometimes wish I could trade these passions for something more “worthwhile” – whatever that means – and then I realize how ridiculous that sounds. Gifts are gifts. Passions are passions. We don’t choose them; they arrive.

We might talk about religion, too. I have a deeply rooted faith in God, but I will say this: I sometimes find myself disenchanted with modern churches and American Christianity. I say this not to spark a debate or discount the beauty of community, but to extinguish the assumption that Christians have it figured out. I wonder if I’m doing it wrong – if we’re all doing it wrong – and have a very real desire to strip religion down to the bare basics that Jesus taught: servanthood and obedience and generosity and grace and reverence and love and love and love. The hard kind of love that’s grueling and messy, that heals marriages and surprises strangers and transforms generations. The kind that cannot possibly be done in our own power; the kind that makes God evident, tangible. Real.

We might talk about children, families, relationships. Ken, Bee and Scout are my biggest priority; my proudest prize. Motherhood and marriage are hard work and I’m fairly unapologetic about learning to be better at both. It’s an ever-evolving process – one that I do not take lightly. When Bee was first born, the balance seemed too unsteady. The plates spun too fast; the expectations piled too high. Yet somewhere along the way, I realized that – for me – the only plates I truly wanted to spin were the ones that held my family. And then it became easier. Far, far easier. And far more enjoyable. When I stopped fighting for the person I thought I wanted to be and – instead – embraced the person my family needed, everything shifted. Because it turns out, the person I want to be is the person my family needs. I cannot serve those beyond my four walls and neglect the needs within my own home.

We might talk about current events or the latest movie or last week’s concert, but I might have nothing to say. I don’t follow pop culture or celebrity gossip or sports teams and I can nearly guarantee I was asleep by 9pm last night. We might talk about the latest Internet meme, but I probably didn’t catch that either. We might talk about how I’m often in my own world, churning around questions and answers and revelations in my head, and then, yes, we’d have something to work with.

Other topics that might burst forth, if I’m leading, that is: raw brownies, books on my nightstand, books on your nightstand, how on Earth one folds a fitted sheet, upcoming travel destinations, my quest for the perfect mascara (found it), yoga, your deepest dreams, smart planners, Internet fasts, why our culture’s so obsessed with happiness and perhaps a lively debate on hot vs. iced coffee.

Topics that we probably won’t cover? The ones listed here. I’m proud of them, yes, but they are not my everything. They are slivers. Snippets, newspaper clippings in fine print – captions overshadowed by real, everyday life: jumbled thoughts and junk mail, swirling doubts and snagged sweaters. The everyday stuff is less glamorous, to be fair, but it’s part of me, too.

For every well-written bio – cursor blinking, fingers hovering – life can sometimes look like a dance. Like beauty. Effortless, perfect.

But we know better. Dancing can bring blisters, too. You can’t see them beneath the shiny patent heels, but they’re there. They’re always there. So if you come to my house, I’ll forget to tell you where to put your coat or hat or keys. But I know exactly where the Band-Aids are.

Here’s to blisters and bios, Band-Aids and beauty.

It’s nice to meet you.

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  • Hi Erin
    I’ve read your blog for a long time and love it :-)
    I’ve never commented or done this before but felt like sharing my Christian faith with you today after what you’ve said. Have you had us knock at your door, or seen us on the city streets? JW.ORG
    Thanks for sharing the real Erin
    xxx

  • hi erin, i too have read your blog for years and never commented before. so many things written that i love in this post. “Gifts are gifts. Passions are passions. We don’t choose them”, this is so refreshing. i find myself always wanting someone else’s gifts and passions instead of being grateful for my unique ones.

    and i agree 1000% on all your thoughts on religion….. “servanthood and obedience and generosity and grace and reverence and love and love and love. The hard kind of love that’s grueling and messy, that heals marriages and surprises strangers and transforms generations.” if only christians would remember THIS is what is good news!

    you are a doll and thank you for sharing your thoughts today.
    xoxoxo
    heidi

  • Wow, was this lovely! Thank you for sharing both blisters and beauty, and thank you for being real. I adore the bubble wrap paragraph, and it resonates so much. So often we’re caught up in trying to create “a bio” for others, we forget to create lives for ourselves. You rock for the continual reminders lately to savor the moment, not the documentation.

    • Ahhhhh you’re so right on creating a bio for others, Rebecca! Thank you for your sweet note! :)

  • I’d love to have a conversation on hot vs. iced coffee…I’d drink an iced coffee in the middle of a Canadian winter ;)

    I find it very interesting how those success snippets, those parts of our lives, that often are small or big goals that we set for ourselves sometimes seem to lead to continued pushing for more such snippets. While we are working on successes for our career, on milestones, etc. we are very content without having achieved them at all, but once achieved, our eye is set on the next thing. It often seems like a revolving door – out and around to search and search again…often not being able to stop our own spin.

  • i love our talks. They are so refreshing. You are a wonderful wife, mother and friend. A wife, mother and friend who oozes that love of Jesus that you mention. ❤️

  • Thank you for this. I love everything you said above. Thank you for always being so transparent about who you are, for sharing your lessons with us, for your way with words. I always feel refreshed after stopping by and reading your posts. And it sounds like I’d enjoy chatting over a glass of wine with you too. :)
    Thanks for the real talk! xo

  • This sounds like the absolute perfect welcome. I hope you would find my dust bunnies just as sweet (they’re mixed in with the dog hair, the fish crackers, and a few small plastic animals…)

  • “When I stopped fighting for the person I thought I wanted to be and – instead – embraced the person my family needed, everything shifted. Because it turns out, the person I want to be is the person my family needs. I cannot serve those beyond my four walls and neglect the needs within my own home”.

    I read this post when it hit Feedly this morning and had to save it while I went about my day – dentist appointment, dog walk, groceries, pay some bills, grab a quick coffee with a friend.

    As I wrote that list I realized that is totally relates to the quote that I pulled from your post. I’ve wrestled with who I want to be compared to the actual time that I have available for a while now. I see others zooming ahead with greater success and feel some envy. Or frustration.

    But I’m not in that place any longer. I’m a long way from being single with endless amounts of time to put to a career. I have a wonderful spouse and daughter. And now this sweet new poodle puppy.

    In my previous career I WAS that person who could work round the clock and commit all sorts of time to getting ahead. To have that single focus. And I reaped many rewards because of it.

    But where I am now? It’s not that I’m dreaming of those days and wishing them back. I wouldn’t trade my life now for anything. And my family needs me in ways that aren’t consistent with 100% focused career-building.

    I do take small steps ahead with my photography AND I do find joy and honor in making a home for my family. For being there for my girl, for making memories with her and my guy.

    This is where I am. And it’s good.

    • Ohhhhh Sandra, we’re twins. I’m nodding my head at everything I’m reading in your comment. Thank you for sharing!!!

      • It IS good but I do definitely wrestle at times with the frustration of things moving slower than I’d like. I had to redefine what success means to me as it certainly many days does not include career-y items! Sometimes a meal on the table and a few laughs with my family….

  • I love & adore you Erin!! This post made me miss you guys. You are the real deal. An extra bit for your readers- you are the type that (pre- your-own -kid), took in my little eight year old & her friend for crafts & pizza & nail painting… and then you let them spend the night, and sweet Ken slept on the couch so you three could have “girl talk”. She still talks about it- 7 years later. xo

    • Oh Sheri – you are so so sweet. That was one of my favorite CA memories in that house – your girls are just the most precious gifts. Love your family! Miss you much. :)

  • “I sometimes find myself disenchanted with modern churches and American Christianity. I say this not to spark a debate or discount the beauty of community, but to extinguish the assumption that Christians have it figured out. I wonder if I’m doing it wrong – if we’re all doing it wrong – and have a very real desire to strip religion down to the bare basics that Jesus taught: servanthood and obedience and generosity and grace and reverence and love and love and love.”

    MADAM, can we please hang out and discuss this and other things? I feel this way! And I love this post! Seriously a blogger, no, human, inspiration.

  • Hello, my love! I love our many, many talks, and I love you. Not only does your writing bless me, but your presence does just the same. And… you shine the love of Jesus. You have been such a gift in my life. Please never stop writing and never stop drinking red wine with me. <3

  • I absolutely adore this.

    I can’t write a bio to save my life, so all my online profiles remain blank.

  • Dear Erin how precious your words are after the experience I’ve just lived through. Hurricane Gonzalo passed directly over us and left us without power for five days. Truly stripped to the bare necessities Jesus taught. The grace of God, who protected the one room in the house where my disabled child sleeps, keeping it dry from the torrents or water and wind. Reverence for a sovereign God who uses hurricanes to humble His people to bow their heads and give thanks and praise for His love and mercy and love and love and love for a family who clung together and prayed together in the darkness and howling wind. My bio…completely washed away by the hurricane and was useless to my family in the storm. My faith held my family together and was the light in the darkness for us all. Thank you for sharing yourself, you are a blessing in our lives. Truly, Renuka

    • Oh gracious, Renuka – what a touching faith you have. Thank you for sharing this beautiful testimony!!!

  • love this. so much. so so SO much! especially as i sit looking at the dust bunny community that is living to my right as my fiance and i continue the construction/updates on our home. thank God for friends that embrace us just as we are! :)

  • This, and YOU and your refreshing honesty and perspective — such a blessing! I feel so fortunate to have stumbled into this corner of the web-iverse.

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