I spent countless hall pass breaks in the bathroom of my jr. high and high school with my armpits under the hand dryers or neatly folding toilet paper into origami type shapes to tuck into my bra in a desperate attempt to keep up appearances that I didn’t sweat.
But the truth was (and still is) I sweat. And sometimes I sweat so much that it leaves pit stains.
I will never forget my friend Elisabeth admitting to sweating through her shirt during fifth period. Not only did this wave of comfort come over me that I wasn’t the only teenage girl who sweat so much it showed, but other girls who were sitting around silently nodded in agreement.
There have been countless other confessions from countless other women in my life since that moment and I wish I could kiss them all on the nose for their honesty. One confession was from Camille that warned me she had waited so long to pee that she was going to have a release fart once we finally made it to a restroom. My sister was the first one to admit to chin hairs, I think we all remember the friend who alerted us to the fact you can poop while pushing out a baby and nipple hair? Yeah. Nipple hair.
Then there’s the confession that catches you off guard. Like Lindy’s confession of an ingrown armpit hair so deep and painful that she had to have her husband dig it out with tweezers. Up until that point I had never heard of such a thing and like hell if I was going to let someone I wanted to make out with dig an infected hair OUT OF MY ARMPIT.
I nodded along with her harrowing tale and filed it away in the “LINDY’S CRAZY” file.
Two weeks later I ended up with an ingrown armpit hair so hurty that it made blinking painful.
Suddenly Lindy wasn’t so crazy anymore. Suddenly Lindy was onto something brilliant, she was so in love with someone that she trusted him to help her when things got embarrassing. So THAT’S what true love is! (However in full disclosure I had my mom dig out my armpit hair for me. Cody and I were still too new.)
I’m not saying you should sidle up to your seat mate on the public bus and tell them about the tonsillolith you dug out that morning, but there is extreme value in telling your story, the little quirky parts that make you who you are. (One of you just clicked on that tonsillolith link and went ZOMG I’VE HAD ONE OF THOSE!! The rest of you are just squicked and disgusted.)
I spent so long being someone different to so many different people that I never actually took the time to figure out who I really was. The truth is I am a flawed human being who makes mistakes, a lot of them. But I get up, dust myself off and make a joke about it. There’s no sense in lying or glossing over the ugly parts of my life because they have made me who I am today. However it makes perfect sense to share what I learned from the ugly parts, recycling my pain, anguish and embarrassment for the greater good of someone else.
That “flawless” girl you admire? She gets ingrown armpit hairs and sinus infections too. Those girls in the latest Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition? You know at least one of them had to do a shoot on her period. Hollywood starlets get stinky gas and pap smears too. Hunky leading men get back zits and ear hair. And even more comforting? Taro Gomi was right when he said everyone poops. (Unless they’re me, then they just eat kiwis.)
Are you being you or are you being who you think you should be depending on who’s paying attention?
“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” -Dr. Seuss
making unbreakable - formerly moosh in indy. 
I love you. And I always see your tweets when I most need to read what you’ve written.
I am trying hard to find the real me so I can be her again. In the meantime I’m just grateful I found you!
xoxo
LikeLike
@Emily, Thank you, and thank you for appreciating my “It’s one in the morning and I have to get this written or I’ll never sleeeep post.”
I’m glad I did it when I did since you were around to read it.
xo
LikeLike
I have tonsil stones (aka tonsilloliths) way more than one human should endure. They are the bane of my existence.
LikeLike
@Anna, OMG, me too! ;o)
LikeLike
@Angela, I WIN!!
LikeLike
@Anna, ZOMG! I just had one a few days ago and never knew what it was! I even went to two doctors, one was an ENT and neither of them told me. I love the internet. I’m way less creeped out now that I know this happens to other people and my body isn’t just self destructing. And to think, I almost didn’t click that link.
LikeLike
@Jodi, *wiping hands* My work here is DONE ladies. Bringing the world together one stinky tonsil stone at a time.
LikeLike
@Casey, I, too, am a tonsilith-having freak. I probably dig them out at least once a week. I use a flashlight and something you are supposed to pop zits with. Extraction is quite the science with me, and my other half is used to it by now, even if he shakes his head slightly when he sees me go at it.
There is also this: http://www.therabreath.com/product.asp?CAT=24
when I feel like paying for it.
LikeLike
@Anna,
The very first one I had got so huge I thought it was a giant lesion on the back of my throat. I thought it was cancer or something. DH, who is a dentist and should have known what it was, told me it was “sulfur granules”, which is a symptom of a serious disease. When I looked that up, I became even more sure I would be dying soon. But thanks be to Google, because by it’s power I found out that I just get monster tonsil stones from time to time and got advice on how to get them the heck out of there! Our bodies are just weird sometimes…
LikeLike
@Chrysta, Oh man, HE’S A DENTIST AND DIDN’T KNOW?
My duties here on the Internet are more important that I had thought! 😉
LikeLike
@Casey, Yup.
And *blushing* thanks for the cudos you left on my blog post about my half marathon. All my friends and family have really wrapped around me over this. It’s nice to feel so loved. 🙂
LikeLike
@Chrysta, It’s an AMAZING accomplishment that so many people say they want to do but that so few actually do do! (I said do do. Heh.)
LikeLike
@Anna, I thought they were an allergic reaction to walnuts. *shrug*
LikeLike
Your post makes me think of this Brene Brown quote:
“How can we be genuine when we are desperately trying to manage and control how others perceive us?
How can we be honest with people about our beliefs and, at the same time, tell them what we think they want to hear?
How do we stand up for what we believe in when we are trying to make everyone around us feel comfortable so they won’t get angry and put us down?”
Thank you for being YOU. I love YOU. 😀
LikeLike
@Frelle,
Thanks for posting that quote from her. I was in a discussion last night about faith and belief and I knew there was a way I wanted to express what I was trying to say and that’s the quote I knew (but didn’t know) I wanted! 🙂
LikeLike
@Frelle, Dude, quoting Brene Brown on a post I wrote makes my heart sing.
LikeLike
You’re welcome, Malia!
Casey: It only adds to the beauty that was already there, my dear. 🙂
LikeLike
All throughout high school, I bought my clothes carefully, only choosing colors you’d never be able to easily see my sweat through. Oddly enough, I never had another friend talk to me about it. I wish they would have.
LikeLike
@Whit, I try to buy tops that have a pattern, so it’s not as noticeable when I spill food down my front and it gets stained, but in a lighter color so my dandruff doesn’t show.
LikeLike
@CaySedai, Oh man, let’s discuss the salad dressing drips on a quarter of my wardrobe.
LikeLike
@Casey, The family joke is “you must have a hole in your chin.”
LikeLike
@Whit, Oh man, me too. Even after Elisabeth had mentioned it I still wasn’t comfortable enough to open up about it. I wish I would have been.
LikeLike
I love this post.
I may have never commented before, but this post resonates on so many levels.
Thank you for sharing YOU with us.
LikeLike
@A, Oh, thank you. I promise to tell you if you have a stray chin hair as long as you promise to do the same for me.
LikeLike
I haven’t had a tonsillolith since last year when I had my tonsils out! BEST.THING.EVER. I hate those things. Blech!
LikeLike
@Bridget, I probably should have had my tonsils out a long time ago, but apparently my mom had different ideas.
LikeLike
I stopped spending time being the person other people wanted to be when my dad died. I was 24. It was a big wake-up call to seize the moment and really make it all count. Now that I have a son, who is 3 and a half, I just don’t have the time to pretend to be perfect. Messy house? Check! Feed my kid Cheez-Its because he likes them and that’s not the hill I want to die on? Check! Be open and honest about the fact(s) that I had a miscarriage, PPMD and am now having touble conceiving? CHECK. Thanks for being sharing yourself with us Casey!
LikeLike
@Sarah, No no no, thank YOU for being honest with yourself and the people around you, I can promise you they appreciate it more than you will ever know.
LikeLike
I am far from perfect, too. I try to keep up appearances, but really, anyone who knows me knows my flaws, insecurities, worries, and more. The best part of friendship is giggling over these types of stories, as embarassing as they are. It keeps things SO real.
LikeLike
@Loukia, BUT YOU ARE PERFECT! (To me, because I love you. So I don’t see flaws. So there.) xoxo
LikeLike
Two words: skin tags.
LikeLike
@CaySedai, Two words back, inner thigh. *sigh*
LikeLike
@Casey, Starting with my neck, underarms (makes shaving an “interesting” experience), bra line, where my bra rubs under my underarms, waistline, behind one knee, oh, and yes, one on a nipple.
LikeLike
I can’t believe I am going to admit this, but I donned the tweezers and gloves and pulled out the longest armpit hair from my sister’s pit 3 years ago while she was visiting from out of state.
I didn’t know it was possible either. She told me she had been to the doctor and the ER because she had a lump and incredible pain under her arm and they kept telling her it was nothing.
Because I am a caregiver for my quadriplegic husband (and in her eyes that makes me practically a doctor, LOL!) she figured I would know what it was if I just took a look but HOLY SMOKES!!! I will never forget that.
She on the other hand was very proud when she took her pit hair to her bf and showed it to him (I know! CRAZY!) because finally there was proof that it wasn’t in her head and that there really was something wrong.
LikeLike
@Sasha, Had Lindy not made her confession to me I would have been absolutely SURE I was dying by way of my armpit.
You’re a good sissy, I know mine would do the same for me.
LikeLike
Sweat? Check
Crazy random chin hair? Check
Ingrown armpit hair/leg hair? Check
Even have a hair that randomly grows in a freckle on my cheek.
I still wear mostly black shirts because the sweat doesn’t show as much. I pull away when someone tries to tickle my armpits too.
LikeLike
@Calleah, Ingrown leg hairs are awful, mostly because you never notice them until you’re wearing shorts and sitting in a large group of people and you just have to be the last person to notice it because it’s HUGE.
LikeLike
My confession? I now really want an ingrown armpit hair. If that doesn’t happen, I hope my husband gets one so I can dig it out. Or, next time one of you gets one: YouTube. Please.
LikeLike
@Brooke, Oh no no no, you don’t want one. SO MUCH PAIN. And getting them out is even more painful and messy.
Become a dermatologist. That’s my advice.
LikeLike
@Brooke, And I’ll bet it’s already on YouTube.
LikeLike
Great post! In fact, it’s why I recently started blogging. I’m so used to being the “all american girl” and being everything to everyone that I’ve forgotten who *I* am.
Thanks for reaffirming that it’s ok to be me.
LikeLike
@Missy, I’ve never been an all american girl, it sounds exhausting. Here’s to being yourself and loving it!
LikeLike
Every other week, we host a house church group in our home. Yesterday was our night to host, I had come down with a pretty awful headache and my husband was away for the day. I was lying in bed seriously contemplating just canceling our meeting for that night since I was feeling too poorly to do all the cleaning I usually do in preparation for having guests. And then it occurred to me that of all people who should be able to see my mess, it should be the ones who were coming over. That there was no need to try and hide behind a thin veil of carefully concealed imperfection. And the weight that lifted from me when I came to terms with that and accepted it took away the stress I was feeling and truly let me rest so that I was ready worship with my friends that evening.
I love this post Casey, you’re awesome. 🙂
LikeLike
@Malia, I learned a long time ago that lying to my friends about the condition of my house and keeping up appearances that were unrealistic wasn’t fair to them, and the ironic part is they never cared in the first place!
Love you right back.
LikeLike
Oh what a struggle I have with this! Thanks for posting it. I always see others and their “perfect” lives and just feel so lost. I never express it, I always keep it hidden…but its’ there.
And I’m so glad you said nipple hair. I mean, seriousl. What is up with THAT? Thankfully I’ve seen none since the youngest was born…but sheesh.
Now I’m off to have my lip waxed. 😉
LikeLike
@Sarah, My eyebrows are a sight to behold at the moment.
LikeLike
Hear, hear.
LikeLike
@Robby Slaughter, Well said.
LikeLike
love that the ugly parts make us who we are. so, so true.
LikeLike
@jonelle, well, with the ugly parts cleaned off and painted over with a fresh coat. 😉
LikeLike
Have you read any of Brene Brown’s work? My latest blog posts has links to her blog, books, & TED talks… her most recent book is called “The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are.” She’s brilliant and humble and hilarious and wise and I just can’t recommend her enough.
Also, in college I once had an ingrown pubic hair–and not in the bikini-line area, right down in the business–that was SO BAD it formed a hard purple pea-sized lump. It hurt to walk! I called a nurse and she told me to lay down and put a hot compress on it. UM, I LIVED IN A DORM. It finally got so bad that I waited until my roommate went to class, locked the door, got out a mirror, sterilized a needle, and took care of it myself. It hurt SO BADLY but it was also sweet relief. And also TOTALLY and completely disgusting.
Also, I’ve never been more glad that I had my tonsils taken out when I was five. 🙂
LikeLike
@Cameron, I’ve met Brene twice, I even considered naming this baby in my belly Brene after hearing her speak the last time. Her books are on my nightstand.
You and me sister, we need to hang out sometime. We can eat food and get parts waxed.
LikeLike
@Casey, forgot to mention… pit stains? They were baaaaaaaad for me on Clomid. Baaaaaaad. And it made my feet sweat so badly that I had to change my socks at least three times per day. WHAT? GROSS.
LikeLike
@Cameron, Lupron turned me into a Clomid patient on an extra dose of Clomid. *shiver*
LikeLike
We learn something new everyday. I hate pit stains. Mine come and go, but there are times I choose which tops to wear based on it.
No one is ever perfect. We must remember.
LikeLike
@Mary Ann, I haven’t worn a white shirt IN YEARS. Not sure I ever will again.
LikeLike
Casey, I sweat a lot and only recently learned that those nasty things in my throat were tonsil stones. Thank you for keeping it real and reminding us that we are all normal!! 🙂
LikeLike
@Kelly W., Two words, boob sweat. Sheesh. I’m surprised I don’t rot under there. xoxo
LikeLike
This post is something I’m passionate about…being REAL. I love it! Unfortunately, my friends probably got more than they ever bargained for when I was pregnant. I told them EVERYTHING that happens to your body. My husband then forbid me from talking about pregnancy to my single friends…he didn’t want them to be scared out of having kids =). Thanks for being real!
LikeLike
@rebecca, discussing pregnancy with an honest pregnant lady is really the only way to go. when they use terms like “rabid badger” and “exploding butt” you know you’re in good company.
LikeLike
The sweaty armpits? Have them. Well, had them. Now I get Botox injections twice a year to tame the drain.
Tonsilloliths? More often than I’d like to admit.
Migraines. Migraines that seem to only be controlled by medications that make me gain weight. I definitely have those.
Can we go back to when we were kids and life was easier?
LikeLike
@Katie, It would have to be before sixth grade, because that’s when I started to smell and grow boobs. From looking at Addie, 6 seems like a pretty good age.
LikeLike
fantastic post. perfectionism is such an uphill battle, since it’s exhausting and impossible to keep up with what you think someone else has going on. i’ve been there, and am still working on it. ingrown hairs, tonsil stones, stinky pits: all ongoing parts of my life, along with so many other gross things (um, what about toe hair? and why does no one else seem to have it?) thankfully i have a husband who’s content to be gross with me and not judge 🙂
LikeLike
@sarah, Toe hair. Yeah. My sister…she got it worse than I did, but still.
I’m thankful to have a husband that can point out my neck hairs and still make me feel pretty.
LikeLike
i sweat a ton. AND i have a tonsil stone right now that feels like it’s the size of texas. it’s good to know i’m not alone. 🙂
LikeLike
@Pam, IKEA kids plastic knives, best tonsil stone remover I’ve found.
LikeLike
I have toe hair….like an INCH long on my big toes…runs in the family. Most of the women also have to pluck or shave their chins (I don’t thanks goodnes….). BUT I DO have nipple hair when I am pregnant… it’s lovely. I didn’t have a sweat problem until I had kids and my hormones freaked out. Now I sweat when it’s snowing outside and I ALWAYS have to worry about it. Oh well. 🙂
LikeLike
@Windy, The luxuries of dry pits and smooth nipples that we give up for little people.
LikeLike
Ingrown hairs, sinus infections, pooping when you have a baby. I love this post!
LikeLike
@Jenny, I only speak the truth.
LikeLike
OMG, there is actually a name for that weird tonsil stuff??? Tonsillolith. Who frickin’ knew???
LikeLike
@Heather, Someone on twitter knew, and told me about it. The rest? History.
LikeLike
I heart you.
And not just because this person you are talking about here?: “One of you just clicked on that tonsillolith link and went ZOMG I’VE HAD ONE OF THOSE!!”
That person is me.
Except replace “ONE” with “A BAZILLION (roughly)”. Ah well. Scrolling through the comments, at least I had myself convinced it was food stuck there and wasn’t a sign of a serious disease. Yikes!
But even if that exact person you mention WASN’T me? Still the best post ever. 🙂
LikeLike
@Lindsay, Well, here I am 12 hours later and I’m SHOCKED myself at how many people have had them (and even more surprised at how many people thought they were dying because of them!)
LikeLike
I haven’t even finished reading the rest of this post because I clicked on the tonsillolith link. You are the first person – EVER – to be able to tell me exactly what the hell that stuff is. You are my Oprah – because you make me feel like I’m not alone. In the depths of depression AND the depths of nasty, throat crap. THANK YOU!
LikeLike
@Rachel, I wish I could give you cars and expensive face cream like Oprah, instead you get dodgy wiki links. 🙂
LikeLike
OMG. I totally did the triangular paper towel underneath my arm pits to cover up my sweating when I was in high school. Until reading this I still thought I was the only one who did that! I never wore colored shirts in high school and I never raised my hand. Such a shame.
LikeLike
@Amanda G., I perfected a stance where I could always keep one pit aired out in case of a hand raising emergency.
LikeLike
This post is amazing but the comments are even amazinger. I’m not even going to try to compete.
High fives all around.
LikeLike
@ClassyFabSarah, Aren’t they fantastic? I love people. Well, my people.
LikeLike
I am in love with this post. I am always having embarrassing things happen to me.
LikeLike
@molly, Join the crowd. No one should be embarrassed here.
LikeLike
I honestly thought no one else dealt with the excessive sweating. I am so glad I am not alone. We must all be good at hiding it if we all don’t know about other people with the same problems. I wish I could find a cure though. In high school I had long hair that would slide over my shoulders to cover my armpits if hand raising was required.
Great Post!
LikeLike
@Kim, You are soooo not alone. I think we’ve all just become masters at keeping it hidden!
LikeLike
Well here’s one to make you feel better. You know how you read the tampon instruction and think to yourself “What moron would leave one in and forget about it? How is that even possible.” I always thought this and then….last summer…happened to me at 32 years old. Felt like the biggest idiot in the world. The worst part is that I got very sick and had to go to the E.R. that same week. I’d already figured out my mistake and fixed it – but because I was so sick, I had to tell every doctor and nurse about the tampon just in case it was TSS. Every one of them asked me “how is that possible?” Gah! It’s possible. Especially if you’re camping and desperate for a tampon and buy one of those tiny teenage ones that are about the size of a golf pencil. Yeah, it happens.
LikeLike
@Anonymous, I would have brought a box of golf pencil tampons to throw at anyone who said something stupid.
LikeLike
somehow you always post what I need.
I ❤ you.
LikeLike
@Katie, Sweaty pits got you down Sluiter? 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve never had an ingrown armpit hair but MY GOODNESS that sounds painful.
Nipple hair? Check. I had them before, but since I got pregnant? IT’S A FOREST OF REALLY TALL TREES (that are painful to pluck).
The pooping thing … well, with my first kid I’d just finished a bottle of castor oil, so I was too empty to have to worry about it. This time though? I’m a little terrified of it.
LikeLike
@Mrs. Wilson, If it helps, I’m a Labor&Delivery nurse, & people poop regularly during childbirth. It’s a fact of life (& it means you’re pushing right!). It doesn’t bother us–we just wipe it away, try not to make a big deal (b/c we know you’re embarrasesed) and move on to the happy birthday party!
LikeLike
@Laura, See, you say that, but WHAT IF I’M THE EXCEPTION? The “Oh, girl, you have to hear THIS story.” girl you talk to all your nurse friends about?
LikeLike
@Casey, I guess if it REALLY were THAT awful, and the nurses talked about you, the only bonus is that you wouldn’t KNOW they talked about you! 🙂 Seriously, your digestion slows down during labor as well, so when you think you’re in labor, or are going to be induced, try to have a good sit-down BEFORE-hand, & you should be fine. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don’t take castor oil again. It sometimes causes really bad problems with labor. Be safe, & don’t worry!
LikeLike
@Mrs. Wilson, Ingrown nipple hair.
True story.
LikeLike
@Casey, OUCH.
LikeLike
Thank you for this. I wish I had more I could say but, eh, you get me.
Steph
LikeLike
@Adventures In Babywearing, We’ll have slumber parties and play grooming monkeys. 🙂
LikeLike
I just loved this post! I never even heard about this tonsilliloth before (had mine out when I was 4 – do you not get them when you don’t have tonsils?) My Mom just went to the doctor recently and she told me that the doctor scraped something out of her throat which spewed out of her mouth and “plopped” on the floor – she could hear it land! I just about lost it with her rendition of the story. Mom could not remember what the doctor said it was – I bet it was this. Another thing…about the “pee fart” I have this really embarrassing thing that when I wake up in the morning and NEED to go to the bathroom I pass some gas – I always would tell my husband that me needing to potty made me have gas and he would just roll his eyes. 22 years later – if I pass some gas as I am waking up – he sarcastically says “Gotta Pee??” Such a smartass! :o) Am I the only one with this condition?
LikeLike
@Ellen Renee, Nope. I figure it’s safe to say that Cody won’t dig this deep into my comments so I can assure you the gas/morning pee phenomenon is hardly a phenomenon at all. 🙂
LikeLike
OK, here’s one no one’s mentioned: what about stinky crotch sweat? I pretty much smell like a kitty litter box after I get finished with a long run, and it ain’t so much my pits… TMI even for this post? Probably so. Sorry.
LikeLike
@Chrysta, We had a tree outside our first apartment that stunk. One day after only a few months of marriage we were walking out to the car and I said “Man, that tree smells like sweaty crotch.” Cody said “Totally.”
There was a moment of silence.
Then Cody said “Wait, how do you know what sweaty crotch smells like?”
LikeLike
@Casey, And how did HE know??? I guess men just assume they’re the only ones who know what a locker room smells like…
LikeLike
so you know when I shop, I shop particularly with my pits in mind.
If my pits don’t like the shirt, nobody likes the shirt.
LikeLike
@designhermomma, amen sister.
LikeLike
LOVE this.
The older I get, the more I find that I actually want to be me. To figure out who that person is and act on it. I’m a born “pleaser,” so I still expend way too much energy trying to be who others expect/need/want.
But last night? I farted in front of my husband. Like, with my butt facing him as I curled up on the couch. It just slipped out. I work so hard to keep some mystery alive and NOT fart in front of him. Or pee/poop with him nearby. But, dude, it sure felt good. And our laughter — tears streaming from my eyes laughter — was exactly what I needed. Perhaps I shall toot in front of him more often. 🙂
LikeLike
@suzanne @ pretty swell, Take a cue from Shrek. Better out than in. Especially when pregnant.
LikeLike
Back when my husband and I loved each other, we used to dissect tonsilloliths with tweezers and see who had grosser ones. Surely that was where we went wrong.
LikeLike
@Amanda (Shamelessly Sassy), It has to be. When the gross bonding stops? So does the love. I’m off to groom Cody’s back hair. 😉
LikeLike
Okay, I’ve read you forever and am embarrassed to admit that this is the first time commenting. But I was at lunch today with college girlfriends and we were talking about being flawed … and how most people are, it’s just that it’s only the few perfect ones who actually admit it.
It’s like you post so much of what goes right through my mind.
BTW, I’m a super duper armpit sweater too – and in my previous life before kids I was a dermatology sales rep. Anyway, one of the doctors I called on recommended Drysol to me … you put it on at night just prior to sleeping … and I swear the stuff works! Not only does it stop the sweating … BUT it also heavily reduces any smell from it. You need a prescription – but it’s just a liquid deodorant that costs less than $10 and is AWESOME!
LikeLike
@Jill, Oh man, I use the Certain Dri stuff and thankfully it works! Isn’t it great when you can sit in a group and bond over the silliness of imperfections?
LikeLike
Making my way here from Heather of the EO’s, and so so glad I did.
This past fall I announced to the world and very publicly on my blog that I am struggling with depression. To some it came as a surprise, to others maybe not so much. It was a huge leap of faith to share my story and continues to be to this day. But every once in a while I get a comment from someone who has been reading, or I read a post like this, and I’m reminded why it’s okay to be so open, to share. That there is value in being an open book. And I need to be reminded of this often, because old habits, or rather, insecurities, die hard. 🙂
P.S. I so sweat through my shirt! I can often be found in the ladies room before a big meeting folding up some kleenex or toilet paper!
LikeLike
@Christine @ Coffees & Commutes, No one should ever have to deal with depression alone, congratulations on your huge step in talking about it, I can promise you that your readers appreciate your honesty more than you’ll ever know.
LikeLike
Toe hair, check. Smelly hemmorhoids? Check. Getting a tampon stuck inside me because the stupid string came out when I put it in? Check.
The hemmorhoids really bother me. I can’t even stand being myself. It happens quite often.
LikeLike
@Elizabeth Kaylene, You will be my hemorrhoid whisperer if labor brings me to that. Are you so excited?
LikeLike
LOVE this! And i love having girlfriends who can talk about this stuff. And I husband who knows that i fart in my sleep, and sometimes they stink so bad that they wake him up….
LikeLike
@inthefastlane, Covered wagons. We know them well. But we pretend they don’t exist. 🙂
LikeLike
I really, really need to kiss you right now.
Not only for the sweating thing (which omg how could it have gotten worse after pregnancy?) but because you are an internet MD in my opinion. And compared to my real MD you kick butt. Tonsillolith. She should have known. She should have known more than to tell me I need to chew my food slower (which BTW doesn’t help.)
Now you need to figure out how to cure the world of them.
LikeLike
@Neeroc, You could kiss me but I may have a tonsillolith. Or maybe I didn’t chew my cheerios well enough. Heh.
LikeLike
Love this! And, a friend of mine just posted this on facebook today:
“Why are you trying so hard to fit in, when you’re born to stand out? ~ Oliver James
Honoring the greatness within gives others permission to honor theirs.”
I think it is so brilliant that I am going to have it framed for each of my teenage daughters bedrooms. Because one can never read it enough! Thanks for sharing all of your “stuff” so the rest of us realize that we aren’t alone! 🙂
LikeLike
@Beth, If I can get Addie to admit to being the sweaty girl? She’ll always have friends.
LikeLike
Dude. This post rocks on so many levels.
Not sure why it’s taken me so many years to learn that being me is way better than pretending to be someone else. It’s definitely something I want to instill in Punkin early and hope it’s something he will never doubt about himself.
LikeLike
@punkinmama, Being someone else blows.
Unless they’re rich and it’s only for a day and you can spend all their money and the real you gets to keep all the stuff. *ehem*
LikeLike
As always, a lovely, honest post, Casey! Thanks again. xoxo
LikeLike
@Julia, Thank you darling.
LikeLike