Each Wednesday we will be featuring a member of our writing team. We hope to further grow our community by sharing a bit more about the women that make up Rochester MN Moms Blog!
This week…meet Bethany!
She is originally from the Pacific Northwest and loves doing everything she can to help people find crunchy resources here in Med City. Bethany is a wife, mom to a two-year-old firecracker, part-time barista, full-time research junkie, and natural living nerd.
Photo credit: Marit Williams Photography
1) If you could go anywhere in the world tomorrow-where would you choose?
I would go to Sweden so I could see my sister who has lived there for several years. But also because once you are in Europe, you can get to so many countries so quickly, and I have to get moving if I’m going to visit every country in the world! Which, I have to because I love to travel and I have a scratch-off world map that is begging to be completed one day.
2) What has been most surprising to you as a mother?
I think something new surprises me at each new stage, but in the very beginning, I was caught off guard by how not different I felt. I was still me, I still had my same dreams and goals and desires, it was just that now I had this tiny human I always had to put first. It was like I had subconsciously been expecting there to be a “mother” switch that flipped the day my son was born, and I would suddenly become more nurturing and patient and content with a simple life.
There was no switch (surprise!), but there has been a gradual change as my dreams and goals grow and change along with my family.
3) Favorite way to relax after a long day?
I love running a hot bath with Epsom salt and essential oils, grabbing a book and a cup of tea, and sitting in the tub until the water gets cold.
4) How do you take your coffee?
A better question might be how DON’T I take my coffee? The answer to that would be, “from a plastic tub.”
I’ve been a barista for almost six years, two of which were spent at a local artisan coffee shop in Washington state. I’m picky about coffee, to the point of having to keep my opinions to myself or risk starting useless arguments with people who really don’t care. It’s a problem.
French Press at home, anything from Fiddlehead Coffee in Rochester, and extra espresso shots with less syrup from other places in town.
5) If you close your eyes and think about it-where is your favorite place to be?
The beach. Specifically, the California and Oregon coast. I have to clarify because when you grow up near the West Coast, saying “the beach” obviously refers to the Pacific Ocean, but everyone here assumes I mean a lake of some kind.
The ocean will always be a place that calms my soul and inspires my deep desire for adventure.
6) What is something you believe everyone should experience at least once in their life?
Traveling, especially to a third world country. It’s easy to become pretty isolated here in America, and while I am intensely grateful that I get to raise my kids here, I also plan to take them around the world with me to experience cultures different than their own.
7) What is one thing you are working on changing/being better at?
I’ve been in a season recently of working very specifically and intentionally on being more consistent. I tend to be a bit scatter-brained and go-with-the-flow normally, and it can get the better of me if I’m not careful.
I do like to think I’m the lovable type of forgetful, although my husband probably disagrees.
8) What is your favorite thing about your life?
My absolute favorite thing about my life is that it is truly mine. The realization that I can control my reactions, my thoughts, my choices, and my intentions has been incredibly freeing in recent years.
Not everyone lives in an environment in which they are free to make their own decisions, and it’s something that I strive to never take for granted.
