Christi Anderson | The Grit and Grace Project

How One Secret Santa Saved the Day

I was sitting in the parking lot of the grocery store waiting for the hour I could visit my daughter in the hospital when I got the second call. I recognized the number from a voicemail I had received the day before, so I answered the phone. A man said, in a very low, gruff voice, this secret Santa said, “Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Christmas! You have a package under the Courtyard at Sherman Oaks sign.” Then he abruptly hung up. I was annoyed. I was angry. I was in the midst of the most devastating time of my life and this freak was prank calling me. My eight-year-old daughter was across the street in the inpatient psychiatry unit at UCLA medical […]

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My Ex, My Kids and a Funeral

By Christi Anderson / Relationships

It was a Monday; I was waiting for my daughter to complete her dance class when an unlikely conversation began. The lady sitting with me was speaking of her brother, her best friend. Any time something funny, strange, sad, or just life happened, she would reach for the phone and call him. He was the one she shared everything with. Yet, on this day she found herself repeating the same phrase, “I can’t believe he is gone.” I sat and listened. I couldn’t offer any words of wisdom or comfort. I had a best friend like that … my husband. I would call him or text him constantly. He was my go-to person and the one I shared everything with. He was

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This is Why I Don’t Have Just One Parenting Style

By Christi Anderson / Motherhood

Just because I videoed my son jumping off the roof onto the trampoline before I made him stop does not make me a total free-range parent. My kids are gymnasts, dancers and daredevils… kinda like their mom. Wanna snowboard down the black diamond hill? Sure, let’s do it. Wanna hike to the steepest point on every mountain we encounter? Sure, let’s do it. Wanna hop on our bikes and just ride and ride to wherever we end up? Sure, let’s do it. Wanna train for a half marathon at 13? Sure, let’s do it. Wanna do a handstand or walk on your hands everywhere in Los Angeles (and every single city we visit)? Sure, but let me take your picture and put

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How to Make a Happy Marriage, From a Divorced Single Mom

By Christi Anderson / Relationships

I was laying on the massage table chuckling instead of relaxing. I was chuckling at the fact that I had to pay someone to touch me. I mean, I sometimes pay my kids five bucks for a back massage, but that’s different. They don’t really want to do it and they don’t really care. They’ve never walked around looking and feeling as stiff as a 4×4, so how could they understand the necessity of a little back massage? As I got over my giggles and finally succumed to the relaxation, I had all these ideas running through my head about advice I needed to share ASAP. My first order of business is to share my thoughts on marriage (I’ll share my thoughts

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Learning to Love Your Single Self

By Christi Anderson / Life & Culture

“Hi Mommy. How’s life? You have a boyfriend yet?” I had just picked up my 9-year-old daughter from school. It was a rare moment that just the two of us were in the car together, and after she plopped down in her seat, that is how she greeted me. Well…when I dropped her off at school at 7:50am I was single, and when I picked her up at 3:00pm I was still single. I had to tell her that no mystery man who wants a very part-time girlfriend had presented himself to me that day. And I’m OK with that. I’ve been a single mom for 8 years. Right now, I love it. I have three children and they are my priority.

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When a Staycation is the Perfect Family Choice

By Christi Anderson / Motherhood

It’s easy to get discouraged by all the Facebook and Instagram posts of the incredible vacations all of my friends get to take…Italy, Alaska, NYC, some private island in the Caribbean. Well, I’m a single mom on a budget. And by a budget, I mean I’m about 30 bucks short each month. Which also means no exotic travel, or travel at all. So, when my three kids and I took our vacation last summer we had a staycation. It could not have been more magical and amazing. On Monday morning as I sat on Zuma beach watching my kids play in the surf, I opened an email from my mom and she had bought us passes to Universal Studios Hollywood. Tuesday morning

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