This is it.

If there’s anything I am drawn to…. it’s CHANGE!  I know change can be an uncomfortable proposition for many, but I have always leaned into it and actually thrive on it.  For those who know me well, they’d even say I go out searching for it.  And they are right!  My biggest fear is being static, not changing.

As a young adult, I was always looking for the ‘next thing’ to do.  I vowed I’d have a new career every ten years so I wouldn’t get bored (and I did).  As a parent, I loved the new challenges each developmental phase introduced (most of the time).  As a doula, I thrived on guiding my clients through the changes that happen during pregnancy, birth, and new parenthood.  And as an emerging elder, I love the changes in my spirit, body, and psyche (most of the time).

All this is shared to preface a big announcement about a major change happening in my life…  At the end of July I will be leaving Seattle.  I will be divesting all my worldly possessions, and traveling the country in a camper van, training birth professionals along the way, for a year or two.

I have lived in the Northwest all my life, and in Seattle for 37 years.  There are so many places I have never seen or visited, and I’m curious what Vermont looks like, what the folks in Kentucky have to say, to see the soil of the South, and on and on… My youngest son is 18 now, my oldest grandchildren are all moving away, I am done with city living – all signs say the time is now!

What’s happening to my business, Big Belly Services?

• Big Belly Services is known for its enCircle 7-week series and 5-day immersion birth doula trainings.  I couldn’t fathom those going away, so I have been working with Amity Kramer to continue the enCircle doula trainings. Over the next few months, the birth doula trainings will be transitioning to Amity, who is a doula, birth and parenting educator, former Big Belly Services instructor, and founder of Thresholds.
• Amity will continue to offer this community-based birth doula training focused on social justice and anti-racism principles, offering certification through Big Belly Services and PALS Doulas.
• I will be serving in an advisory role while I am traveling, and look forward to having a bit more freedom and flexibility that this change will allow.

If you’d like to follow me, I’ll be documenting my travels through this new blog at carriekenner.com. Please sign up here and follow the articles about my van conversion and preparations to leave Seattle.