Holly

Today I want to introduce you to Holly Bryant Smith. She is a Certified Nurse Midwife at The Woman's Clinic. She definitely has set her part of the Clinic apart from the rest with exam rooms that are named after the different stages at Bonnaroo, her own personal music collection off of her ipod playing on the exam room speakers including John Mayer, Joss Stone, and of course Dave Matthews Band, and her one of a kind "hippie at heart" personality. She has succeeded in making it a non clinic type atmosphere.
We sat down for a little game of Q&A to get to know her better and share her with my friends. The meaning of this project was to show that there are great people out there. Some you may never meet. But they are there, willing to go beyond that extra mile to make a difference in our lives as well as their own. Here is Holly...
bkP: Tell me a little about your job.
H: I am a Certified Nurse Midwife . Part of my job is prenatal care, delivery services, well woman care, and postpartum care. This is actually my 10th year as a midwife.
bkP: So your job I know is very rewarding.
H: Oh yeah! It is an adrenaline rush. It would not be unusual to find me crying during a delivery, especially when dad starts to cry. Moms cry all the time but when Dad does I usually do too. There is something really cool about feeling a baby breathe for the first time in your own hands. I really believe that God put me here for this.

bkP: Growing up did you know this is what you wanted to do?
H: When I went into college I knew I wanted to focus on women's health care. After working in labor and delivery I knew that being a midwife was what I wanted. When I was younger, I wanted to be an astronaut. Space still amazes me to this day.
bkP: Who did you admire growing up?
H: My grandmother. She was the most patient woman I know. She lived next door to us growing up, and was a part of our everyday life. We were very close.

bkP: Do you see her in yourself?
H: I do when it comes to my job. That is probably where I show the most patience. She definitely influenced myself and my brothers.
bkP: Give me 3 words to describe yourself.
H: Real. What you see is what you get. Hippie at Heart. I know all of that is more than 3 words. Free Spirit.

bkP: Something on your bucket list . What is keeping you from doing it?
H: Skydive! I don't know why I haven't done it yet. I promise to do it before the end of 2011.
bkP: What is something you are most proud of?
H: My children. I think you can be proud of your children and then proud of what they become. I am very proud of them.
bkP: If you could give the world on piece of advice what would it be?
H: Carpe diem . Seize the day. Seize the day, but just stay out of trouble while you are seizing it!

You can't help but fall in love with Holly's infectious laugh and smile. She is right. What you see is what you get. After our interview she sent me this message.
One thing that I want to stress, what I do isn't always happy and joyful. There have been many times I've had to either tell a family that their baby is no longer alive or deliver a baby that never took a breath. Then I have to go in the room right beside them and immerse myself in the joy and happiness that is that family's reality without missing a beat. Those are the difficult and sad days...the days I sometimes have to retreat to my call room and get my cry out before continuing my shift. So with each birth I count it as a blessing , whether it is helping a family through a loss or rejoicing with a family with a screaming little fighter. It's ALL a blessing to me.

If you would like to nominate someone for this project please contact me at brandykphotography@gmail.com.

Keep Rockin