One Sovereign Family: The Origin Story

After giving birth to my daughter in February, the already budding interest I had had in women's work had just exploded into a creative bundle of passion and energy. I hadn't known quite what it was that I felt called to do, but I had known that I had found "it" After a few months of looking things up, researching, seeing if the interest in birth and women's work would wane with the growth of my, at this point 6 month old, daughter I decided to approach Kathleen. Having met and really built a good rapport with her while I was pregnant, then subsequently hiring her as a CBE for my daughter's birth, followed by seeing just how much I appreciated having her their throughout pregnancy and immediately postpartum (since I called her to come over 20 minutes before I brought my baby earthside), I thought "That. That is what I want to do". I wanted to know how to witness someone on the level that she had witnessed me. How did she clean up that mess so quickly? She always knew exactly when to shoot me a text and remind me to rest; to always have the answer, or better, to know when she didn't, but know exactly who to ask or where to look. I wanted to make delicious herb blends and know myself the way she knew herself. And I was not at all quiet about this. I'd let my family know all these thoughts. Which prompted my husband's running joke that "it sounded like I wanted be Kathleen when I grew up", and after hearing those words one too many times it hit me: It wasn't that I wanted to be Kathleen when I grew up, it was that I wanted to be more of who I am by learning from someone with a similar calling who I enjoyed spending time with. I realized it was time to ask her, "Can you teach me?". Apparently, she felt we had connected too. And so One Sovereign Family was born, through weeks and weeks of coming together, brainstorming, list making, website creation management, and a whole lot of learning.

- Sydney

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A short while ago Sydney came to me and said that she wanted to be on a path to support women in the same way I supported her. To say that I was honored was an understatement. Sydney was one of my favorite clients and birth experiences because she knew herself so well. From our first conversation I knew that she was solid in what she wanted. I could completely trust this woman to take action on what was right for her and her baby. So, when she expressed interest in learning with me, I knew I could trust her to be present, and that her philosophy surrounding birth and postpartum support was in alignment with my own. I am absolutely thrilled to join Sydney on this journey as we further grow into our work of supporting women, parents, and families in their power and autonomy. This is how we are going to change the world, by re-sourcing ourselves and our community as One Sovereign Family.

- Kathleen