Birth and Boots

What on God’s green earth does childbirth and country music have to do with each other?

What a ridiculously random and absurd pair!

I’m sure that’s what most people will think when they see this. And the truth is, they don’t really have a whole lot in common. From a songwriter’s perspective, however, each song they write is a child of theirs. Similar to birth, some songs flow effortlessly from the heart, through the pen, and to paper. Some take days or even years to finally come together. And while no birth has ever taken years, the hard work is still there.

There really is no rhyme or reason as to why I paired the two together in this blog other than they are my two passions. Many, many years ago, before I knew anything about The Grand Ole Opry, Johnny Cash, Ms. Loretta Lynn, Bill Monroe, or Hank Williams, I heard a song that changed everything. My parents are huge George Strait fans (who isn’t!?).

Whenever he released a new album it would sit there in the CD player of my mom’s car for months on end. I remember being no more than six years old when Blue Clear Sky was released and sitting in the back of my mom’s car listening to it over and over. The one song that drew me in, though, was I Can Still Make Cheyenne. I don't think I even understood what all the song was about, but I knew I felt an incredible saddness wash over me whenever it would play. I didn’t know music could hit you like that. 

I guess I just never thought about making a career out of my love for music or maybe nobody told me you could even if you couldn’t sing or play an instrument. That’s probably for the best, though, because I probably would’ve bought a one-way ticket to Nashville, Tennessee the day after graduation and broke my mother’s heart. By the time I did figure it out, I was already in college and engaged to a man who is Texas born and raised.

​Anyway, I ended up working for a small radio promotions company in the Texas country market, which opened me up to an entirely different world of country music. I knew who Pat Green, Robert Earl King, and Willie Nelson were, but I didn’t realize it was a different sub-genre. That job was amazing. I loved it. I got to recruit new artists who were just getting started. I got to sift through new songs and call people who shared my same love for music. It was a dream job!

Then, we had our son.
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My eyes were once again opened to a whole new world.

It was a world of never-ending information. Birth videos that made you weep. Birth videos that make you cringe. All the while, learning things that just make you stand in awe of our Creator, Jesus Christ. And also, things that make you realize how badass women really are.

I’m a researcher. Some people are, some people aren’t. So, by the time we started taking our Birth Boot Camp class, I already knew most of the information. But what I didn’t know was that the spark had already been lit in me. I felt so empowered to give birth. It brought my husband and I so close, even before the birth of our son. I wanted everyone to feel this empowerment. And I very quickly realized how little couples our age knew about their options (or even that they had options!).

So, I applied, read a million books (just kidding, only half a million), watched documentaries, had the privilege of attending several births, and spent the better part of a year studying and making flashcards (that had people giving me the weirdest looks at Starbucks) so that I could become certified to teach childbirth classes.

I’m still very passionate about music, too. I no longer work at the radio promotions company, but  that doesn’t mean I’ve dropped it completely. My mother says I’m part Michelle Duggar and part Miranda Lambert. The two make no sense together, but hey, that’s just me.

So will this blog be all about birth? No.

Will it be all about music? No.

Is it sure to be weird and sometimes awkward? Well, yeah, that’s life.
​You just never know what you’re gonna get!