changes afoot!

finding new beginnings in a festival of chaos and endings

greetings folks, and welcome to the hearth, a solace space that i'm creating as i slowly button up one phase of my life and move on to another. for the last decade, i've been engaged in birthwork--my time as a doula and as a certified professional midwife among the lakes of western maine and the mountains of northern new hampshire has taught me a great deal about what it means to be with people through the big transitions of life. it has also asked a great deal of me in terms of capacity, and i'm seeking some changes, including a (temporary?) move away from the constantly-on-call life and away from the adrenaline rush of primary midwifery. i need depth and solace and contemplation and connection and peace.

in a parallel professional vein, the school where i've essentially lived for the past decade, at first as a student and then as an instructor, administrator, and dean, has announced it's closure after 27 years of operation gathering and growing certified professional midwives. the full story of that ending is one for another day, but the essence of what i enjoy about teaching--witnessing (and hopefully facilitating) the evolution and growth of passionate humans--is not something i'm ready to give up, regardless of what happens to the institution that's employed me for an age.