Meet Barbara Grant Boneta | Austin Moms 2022 Contributor

Hi all, Barbara Grant Boneta here. I am SO excited to introduce myself and start connecting with all of you lovely folks here on the blog.

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I’m Barbara Grant Boneta, proud Latinx mama of one very cute and very toddlery toddler, new(ish) to Austin, and longtime supporter of families with young children. I am founder and Developmental Specialist at Nudge and Cradle, and founder of the new community event series for caregivers, kinkeepers.

I was born in Mexico City, grew up in Southern California, and then moved to Washington, DC for college where I stayed for about 15 years. I like to think of myself as a little bit west coast, a little bit east coast, and a lot a bit Mexican American. I’m the typical ni de aqui, ni de alla; never feeling like I was fully from the United States or Mexico. I’ve grown up in the United States since I was a toddler, and visit my family in Mexico at least once a year. Growing up in a bilingual, bicultural household has given me so many wonderful opportunities, yet at times has definitely been challenging. As a mother, it is something I’m trying to navigate with as much grace as I can for my little one, who currently speaks only Spanish and stares blankly at anyone who tries to speak to her in English. I want her to be proud of her culture, and am so lucky to be in Austin where this is possible.

I met the love of my life (so cheesy and gross, I know) first semester of freshman year in DC, and we’ve been together since then (I told you. cheesy and gross). He is also from Mexico, grew up in many places around the world, and is the perfect anchor of calm in my anxiety ridden storm. Frankly, his tranquility is a little obnoxious sometimes. We got married at Star Hill Ranch on Bee Caves in 2014, as Austin was the perfect midpoint for our far flung friends and family. I feel like this is where we started planting the seeds to our future life here.

We lived in DC for awhile, enjoying all the wonderful aspects of DC life (walkability! free museums!) while growing tired of the rest (so expensive! your vote doesn’t actually count!). I continued my education post college in Early Childhood Special Education, and worked in early intervention, working with families of 0-3 year olds with developmental delays and disabilities for about a decade. I grew passionate about infant mental health, mentoring others, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and trauma informed practices.

Around 2017, we started trying to build a family of our own. After two miscarriages that broke my heart, we had our beautiful rainbow baby (a term I HATED during the miscarriages, and have now come to embrace), Eva Barbara. She is amazing and challenging and wonderful. Children can be such beautiful mirrors sometimes, huh? We lived that city parent life for a little while, slugging the stroller up and down the metro, squeezing ourselves into much too small a space, and going on walks to see everything.

Then the pandemic hit. And our support system that we’d grown in those 15 years just was not enough anymore. It was time to be near family, lean on others, and move to Austin. We’ve been here since July 2020, and while it was absolutely the right move for our family, it still feels like we just moved here. Because what is time, really.

I am thrilled to share my journey exploring our new Austin home, trying to figure out freelance and small business life, being mama to a toddler (news flash! I’m always tired), and continuing my search for the best taco and outdoor eating combo (so far ordering to go from Mami’s and eating at Zilker or the Wildflower Center is winning).