On Call, At Peace

This stretch of quiet has been the reset my nervous system needed. 

As a midwife practicing in Salt Lake City and serving rural areas like western Wyoming, these moments of pause are part of the rhythm of homebirth care. Out here, the work of rural midwifery can include waiting with intention. On call, but without the rush. No middle-of-the-night scrambling. Just a five-minute walk when it's time. Crisp air. A wide, open horizon. Slow mornings on the porch in the sun. The kind of quiet that isn’t empty, just deeply calm and rich. Birds sing. The wind moves through the grass, and water murmurs at the edge of lakes and rivers. Wildflowers along the trails are small, reminders that life is always unfolding, even in stillness.

The waiting feels different out here. Less frantic, more grounded. Sometimes, the pause is part of the work too. A recalibration. A moment to remember that holding space doesn’t always mean doing. Sometimes it just means being. Present, rested, and ready.

Grateful for the stillness before the next beginning.