Hello, I’m Kathy. I’m really happy you’re here.
Why The Hummingbird Nest Exists
I know what it’s like to spend years caring for others. Holding everything together, moving from one responsibility to the next, and slowly realizing how little space is left to simply breathe. Some nights, the only quiet came when your head finally hit the pillow.
For a long time, I didn’t think pausing was something I was allowed to do.
But each time I made room to slow down, something shifted. I started creating those moments for other women too, simple gatherings, small pockets of connection. And I kept hearing the same words, again and again.
“That was so lovely.” “I didn’t realize how much I needed that.”
That’s why this space exists.
The Hummingbird Nest was created as a response to a way of living that keeps us moving, managing, and carrying, often without rest. What you’ll find here is something different. Simple, intentional moments, sometimes on your own, sometimes alongside other women, always without pressure to fix or figure anything out, always an encouragement to set down your to-do list.
Here, slowing down is not a reward. It’s a practice.
My Story
For much of my life, I was the capable one. The helper. The caregiver. That role began early. When I was eleven, my father died suddenly, in the middle of celebrating my parents’ wedding anniversary, doing something he loved. From that moment on, carefree became careful. I learned to step in, to be responsible, to help my mom hold things together at home when she returned to work. Learning to cook, preparing dinner for our boarder became my after-school play.
I carried that way of being through marriage, through single parenting, through leadership roles, and then through the final years of my mother's life, as her anchor inside a supported living facility. I showed up for everyone, quietly setting myself aside. Somewhere along the way, I forgot how to tend to myself in the soul-deep ways that matter.
What surprised me was how creativity always had a way of leading me back. Simple gatherings. Seasonal rituals. Moments of beauty and connection, created just because. Through making space for others, I began making space for myself. That remembering is what The Hummingbird Nest is built on. I won’t pretend I always get it right. But I’ve learned that tending to yourself is less a destination than a practice, and this space exists to practice it together.
A note about who I am
I love to write, to share stories from my own life, and to find the poem hiding inside ordinary moments. I especially love to make spaces where women feel welcomed, safe, and seen. I’m a mother and grandmother, roles I feel especially proud of. I’m a daughter who showed up, and a woman who came late to her own table. With over 35 years as an event organizer, community builder, and retreat curator, I’ve spent my life creating the conditions for people to exhale.
I’m a woman who values calm, creativity, and connection. Through my writing, my curating of gatherings, and the work I do with my hands, I’ve learned that these aren’t luxuries. They’re the things that keep us whole. They’re the things that bring us joy.
I’ve always been a dreamer. I spent hours as a girl in a red half-moon-shaped swivel chair, glancing out the big living room picture window, imagining what could be. For a long, long time, my dream was to own a retreat center in the country. An old, rustic, refurbished barn surrounded by forest, near a body of water. I’m not fussy: a quiet stream, a babbling brook, a lake, maybe even the ocean. A place where women could set down their busyness and their troubles. Where stillness, creativity, and connection were on the daily menu, along with warm cinnamon buns, placed carefully in a wicker basket and delivered to your doorstep each morning.
I’m building that place now, on Substack.
Who This Space Is For
The Hummingbird Nest is for women in the middle of their own quiet reckoning. Women who have spent years caring for others and are only now beginning to ask what they need. Women who long for stillness in a noisy world. Women who want to return to creativity without pressure or perfection. Women who crave real, unhurried connection with other women who understand.
You don’t need to arrive ready. You only need to arrive.
If any of this feels familiar, you belong here.
Voices from the Community
What You’ll Find Here
The Hummingbird Nest is built around three spaces: The Garden, The Creativity Studio, and The Kitchen Table. Come and have a look around.
How I Hold This Space
I don’t come to this as an expert. I come as a guide, a gatherer. I create invitations, not prescriptions, and trust you to take what’s most nourishing. This space is made richer by the women who walk alongside it, mentors, collaborators, friends, and fellow seekers, each bringing their own wisdom to the circle.
An Invitation
You’re invited to make yourself at home here. To pause, to return, to tend to what matters most.
I’m really glad you’ve found your way here. I’d love to hear about you, what lights you up, what you’re searching for, what you’re quietly longing to make room for. Leave a comment, send me a note, or simply settle in.
There’s no rush here.
Warmly,
Kathy
