Okay, I am going to share something about me that I probably never thought I would put out there – so here it goes.
I met this woman Juliet when my son was about 6 months old – he is now 16 months. While our friendship has been short, it has meant the world to me. I met her thinking we would never be friends. She was too fit, too pretty, too well dressed, too good of a mom. She was everything I wanted to be, which made it very hard to be in the same room as her. No joke. I then made every effort to not be her friend… but she was everywhere – all the moms in my neighborhood knew her. There I was faced over and over again with…her. I watched her parent her little one, ack! She was a wonderful Mom too and made it look so graceful. She intimidated the crap out of me. Truth be told she still does.
I decided about 9 months ago (along with the help of some good and honest friends) – that I needed to get over myself and say hello to this wonderful lady. The only person missing out was me. And at my age worrying “what if she does not like me” was pretty silly. So I did it – I reached out her.
This is the part where they say the rest is history – I really hope it is not because I adore her. She unknowingly gave me the courage to want to be different and better. She probably never knew that she was always leading by example for me. She is so much in so many ways the person I want to be when I grow up and I am so honored to know her.
She is moving on now to a different place; with a fitting career. I introduce to you Juliet. She taught me to be brave, how to be a better Mom and a better person. Saying I will miss her does not do it justice – I still have so much to learn. I am so grateful for the time I had with her.
Juliet – thank you for being the amazing woman and mother you are – Tennessee is so lucky to have you. The world is lucky to have you and every Mom you meet will be blessed to be around you. I know this to be true.
I took these photos of her for her new business as a doula. She will be working out of Topeka KS. Topeka is going to soon be a better place with her there.
Thank you.
More about Juliet:
Originally from the Memphis area, I moved to Seattle in 2006 where I met my husband, Matt — a Topeka native, and gave birth to our daughter, Tennessee Marie. In March 2014 we moved to Kansas, where we enjoy being close to family, good people, the end of Seattle rain, and the return of seasons!
I worked in Healthy Living with the YMCA for 10 years, and left to pursue my dream of becoming a Childbirth Doula. In February 2014, I completed the Birth Doula Training at the Simkin Center for Allied Birth, one of the highest quality birth doula training available.
Training/Expertise/Experience
Birth Doula Training (currently seeking DONA certification)
Pre/Postnatal Exercise
Mind/Body Medicine Techniques
Healthy Lifestyles Skills & Management
Memberships
Northeast Kansas Doula Network
Doulas of Manhattan Kansas
DONA International
DoulaMatch.net
Some of my personal interests include bicycling, hula hooping, crafting, and dog parking.