“She’s such a beautiful child, but something is wrong.”  We heard versions of this sentence about our Nai starting at 2.5 years old. Like any other concerned parents, my husband Kes and I started shuffling in and out of doctor’s offices seeking answers.

Until the life shifting diagnosis came - it’s autism. 

We didn’t know any kids on the spectrum; suddenly, our world shrank into distinct bubbles - persistent prayer (rooted in our progressive Christian faith), therapy, school, health research, and visits to biomedical doctors focused on getting to the root of Nai’s symptoms. 

As you can imagine, this all takes a toll on everyone in the family. And in 2020, I began studying mindfulness,  and later, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) -founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn - as a way to deal with the overwhelm of our lives. I found solace with others who sought continual awakening even in the midst of obstacles. 

I discovered TSD Mindfulness, founded by Sarah Vallely, which supports stress reduction, moving through grief and crisis, and healing from trauma, and decided to study it as a pathway to deeper inner work, not only for myself, but to help other Moms on a similar journey.