Hello, fellow Birmingham moms! My name is Kathryn, and I’m a 31-year-old Alabama native. I spent most of my childhood in Greenville and Montgomery but lived in Asheville, NC for three years during high school. After that, I came back home to Alabama to attend nursing school at AUM and moved to Birmingham in 2008.
Birmingham
Initially, fresh out of nursing school, I was drawn to Birmingham for the medical community. I’ve always wanted to work in pediatric oncology, and Birmingham was the only place in the state for me to fulfill that dream. Now, 10 years later, I have fallen in love with the city. The real appeal of Birmingham is the variety of areas and experiences available. I can raise my children in a rural area, surrounded by pastures and people that make small town life a pleasure. I can drive just a few minutes to a suburban town just outside of Birmingham for Target, Publix, and parks with cute little municipal playgrounds. Then, just a few minutes further, is Birmingham city, with its awesome experiences for the whole family. As an adult, my favorite part of Birmingham is the “foodie” city that it has become in recent years, with outstanding, award-winning restaurants and the multicultural food that you can’t always find in the deep South. As a mom, my favorite part of Birmingham is the variety of family-friendly activities to satisfy everyone’s tastes. And with a wide range of ages among my children, that quality is important!
Moms
My husband, Heath, and I married in 2009, and have made our home in Kimberly, on the outskirts of Birmingham. I am Stepmom to Seth (age 21), an aspiring photographer and coffee connoisseur, and Brenna (age 15), a triple-sport athlete who wants to be a pediatric oncology nurse. While being a stepmom has been one of the most challenging experiences I have ever had in my life, I love my “big kids” to the moon and back. I am Mommy to Caroline (age 8), a basketball-loving smarty pants with a dry sense of humor, and Abbigail (age 7), the baby of the family who has the biggest heart for others and doesn’t meet a stranger. We also have two huge Labrador retrievers and a cat. Our blended family is unique, but our brand of chaos is my favorite.
Since high school, it has been my dream to be a pediatric oncology nurse practitioner. For some reason, I decided that when my youngest was born, it was a good time to go back to school full time to get my master’s in nursing. So I worked full time as a bedside nurse and went to graduate school full time. Years later, I can say the hours upon hours I spent in a hospital was worth it all, though at the time, I didn’t know if I was going to make it through any given day. I still work full time, now as a pediatric oncology nurse practitioner. So, I’m living my dream in my chosen career while being fortunate to work with a group of people who value family as much as I do.
Blog
Birmingham is such a large area, and I feel that through Birmingham Moms Blog we can make the “bigness” of the city feel smaller in our mom community. I look forward to interacting with people who might be in the same stage of life as I am currently . . . but I honestly don’t know which “stage” of life I’m claiming to be in. Having a young adult, a teenager (almost driving!!), and two school-aged girls, working full time and thriving in a blended family setting, I feel like I’m experiencing a little bit of everything all at the same time. Life can be so busy, but a meaningful life is made in the context of relationships. I look forward to building relationships and sharing a little bit of my life with you all, the BMB community.
