SHE LIKES WHAT SHE SEES IN THE MIRROR, STRETCH MARKS AND ALL
Kimberly Summer, 42, was 20 when she became a mom for the first time. She had her second baby soon after. Back then, her body felt like a vessel. It was something that she used to get around during the day and something that fed her kids. It was a rough life for her then, living in a car while mothering two kids. She went from one destructive relationship to another and treated her body poorly with alcohol. She was on a downward spiral and hit a wall. When her third baby, Piper, was born seven years ago with a new partner, she took it as an opportunity for rebirth. She awakened to trusting herself through birth, which was the catalyst for expansion. Kimberly used the experience to drop back into her body and celebrate herself there. Now, she is gentle when she talks to herself. She likes what she sees in the mirror. She even claims a positive space for her body on social media, sharing pictures of her curves, lines and changes while speaking openly about what she has: muscle separation and stretch marks. She is a doula and brings her own experience to her clients, hoping they too will use the opportunity to feel empowered, believing that they are capable and able to give birth and be a mother. She says that it is in the quiet of our deeper selves that we find most answers.