Meet Kate Naylor

I wouldn’t call myself a writer. A daughter, wife, and mother? Yes.  An outdoorsy yoga lover and a therapist? Yes. Writer? *shrugs* Maybe? I sort of feel like time will tell.  All I know is throughout my adult life I keep writing down my thoughts, and not so subtly asking others to read them.  I keep coming back to it. I don’t know if I have anything to “say”, but there is certainly something inside of me I continue to want to share through writing.  This is why I’m so excited (and nervous) about joining Austin Mom’s Blog. I will get to write, and I will have to write (eep!).  

So, what will I write about?  I hope to write about motherhood, mental health, the outdoors, and the ever evolving wilderness of being a human being, for these are some of the things I know.  Life is sometimes magical and awe inspiring, sometimes it’s dark, twisty, and scary, and sometimes it’s routine and practical – I intend to write about all of it.  I have been on a journey and learned some things along the way – with many, many more lessons yet to go.

I grew up in and around San Antonio, but moved away after high school and haven’t returned much.  I still miss the food, my volleyball friends, and hearing Spanish as much as English – but my parents moved out to their horse farm not long after we all went to college and going back to San Antonio without them there never made much sense.  Not to mention, I spent most of my school years visiting my family farm and working and riding horses – so that really is where I go when I want to “go home”.

Not long after college I moved to Austin, hoping to find my people.  I was a bilingual elementary teacher searching for a new career (loved the kids, hated the hours and energy it took to be opposite of my introverted self all day) and after some false starts, landed in graduate school for marriage and family therapy.  My then boyfriend, now husband, really was the man behind the woman then, convincing me I had what it took and cheering me on through long nights and long papers. Graduate school changed so much about me and becoming a therapist changed me further. I had found my people, my bleeding heart continued to bleed, but now I had a focus and a foundation for giving back and caring for others in a way that felt authentic and impactful.  My work centers around the concepts of trauma, attachment, and neurobiology – not only working with clients directly, but also teaching others through an organization called Natural Lifemanship. Adding horses and the outdoors to my therapy work has been the icing on the cake.

When my husband and I decided to get pregnant, the road was bumpy – two years, two miscarriages, and two rounds of IVF later I became pregnant with our amazing daughter, who was born in the fall of 2017.  Since then my work has taken a back seat as I navigate being a new mother, and this new version of myself in motherhood. Again, the evolving wilderness of being a human being.

So, here I am, blogging.  Writing is a way I stay connected with the outside world, where I can stretch my mind and share myself.  I love my family, my work, and my little 3 acres in Oak Hill – and I hope to share what I can with you, through Austin Mom’s Blog!  I look forward to connecting!