When I became a mother, fifteen years ago, I had no idea I was beginning a journey to the center of myself. I had always excelled in school, graduating in 2000 from Stanford University with a Bachelors in Computer Science. I had no doubt I could study all of the books, remember some tips from my babysitting days and ace parenting with flying colors. And yet I found myself at times sitting there on the floor crying right alongside my two-year-old, not able to understand what I was doing “wrong.” I found myself blaming him and shaming myself.Shortly thereafter I went back to school, because I wanted to learn more about children and emotions. I got my Master’s degree in Educational Psychology from CU Denver in 2007. The following August, I co-founded The Patchwork School, which began as a small preschool in my basement with just ten children. We moved the school to Louisville where we quickly found we had many parents seeking something similar for their young children and themselves, a learning environment that also makes space for feelings. Supporting parents, staff and students these past ten years, I have been fortunate to work with hundreds of families in Louisville. I have also researched Social/Emotional well-being on my own and through workshops and conferences in New York, Portland, Finland, Puerto Rico, Vancouver, and here in Colorado.At the Louisville Family Center, I am practicing as an Unlicensed Psychotherapist, working towards licensure as I am in the last year of completing my Master's Degree in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling. I work with adults and families of all kinds, and particularly enjoy and have experience counseling parents who have children with special needs, adopted children, or families working through trauma. Through all of my studies and practice, I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as “perfect” parenting. I have also seen that having some accompaniment can help to ease the struggles and bring a presence that allows the joy to shine through.