Misty and Peter Coffey
Hi everyone!!
I'm Misty Coffey, my
husband and I live in Centreville, Virginia. I
started the Charis CE/Doula program October 1, 2014.
I am the oldest of three girls and
naturally took on a care-taker attitude at an early
age, especially as an army brat. We moved
around a lot growing up and there were always lots
of "new beginnings". Some of the places I have
lived include Florida, Nevada, Alabama, Alaska,
Louisiana, New York and Germany. My absolute
favorite was living in Germany. We were
blessed to have had the opportunity to be immersed in
other cultures. It was easy to travel to
other countries while living there and we did!
We saw many different people and their ways of life.
I really attribute a lot of who I am today to those
experiences.
I essentially grew up in Germany from
13 years old until I graduated high school. It
was very hard to choose where to go to
college after living in Europe for five years, so
honestly, I picked my college based on location.
I chose to go to a college in South Florida that had
a good business program, close to beach. Being
unsure of what I wanted to do, it seemed that a
background in business was a good base. After
I completed my associates in Business I discovered
my passion was Baking and Pastry. I was
accepted to the Culinary Institute of America in New
York. It was very difficult moving from South
Florida to New York, I found the people, climate,
and life in general completely different.
After a few weeks in New York I settled in
wonderfully. Working with my hands was truly
my calling. I could not get enough of
baking, cake decorating, and chocolate work.
The requirement to have a four month internship
brought me to The Ritz Carlton in Mclean, VA.
I fell in love with the area. I knew after I
graduated with my degree in baking and pastry that I
would want to return to the Northern Virginia/DC
area (which I did). My first job was in DC as
a bakery manager. This is where a couple very
important things happened that would change the
course of my life and bring me to where I am today!
A coworker (and friend) became
pregnant after a visit to Morocco to visit her
husband. She was living in America but her
husband did not have his papers approved to come
to America yet. We talked frequently about
being pregnant as we worked alongside each other.
One day she asked if I would accompany her to one of
her prenatal appointments as she was nervous and did not have anyone
else. I was unsure of what it entailed but
said yes because I could tell she was scared and
simply needed someone to support her through this
time. One appointment turned into several, and
then one day while we were having lunch together she asked if I would be with
her at the hospital when she gave birth. I
said yes, not knowing what I was getting into.
She called me early one morning to let me know her
water had broken and she was heading to the
hospital. I met here there. I went into
older-sister mode and started to ask what her
birthing plan was. She did not really have
one, but after hearing her desires for
her birth I was able to help her communicate these
to the nurses. Ten hours later she was holding
her beautiful baby girl. Those ten hours will
forever be burned into my heart and mind. For me, it was
as-if someone had cracked open a door and was
begging me to come in. There were so many
questions I had about what had happened, what did
not happen, why, etc. That is when I realized
how interested in birth I was and began reading and
researching.
Another important life altering
moment was when I met my husband, Peter. He
came into the bakery one day looking for something.
We chatted about being chefs and our passion for
food and the rest is history. We have been
married for a little over 2 years. We have
settled right outside of the city and bought our
first home in Centreville VA. One of our first
things to do was find a church to call our home, and
we did! We joined a small group shortly after.
That is where I met my good friend, Stephanie.
We really clicked and began walking together a
couple mornings a week. During one of our
first walks I told her about my new passion
for everything about birth and how I thought I
wanted to become a doula. Turns out she had a
good friend who was a doula (Charis midwifery
student, Bethany Stricker).
Bethany and I met for tea and talked for several
hours. I knew this was exactly where God was
leading me. After a few months of researching
certification options and discussing them with
Peter, I very excitedly enrolled in Charis, fully
supported by my husband. Bethany has been such
an integral part of helping me to take the next step
and pursue becoming a doula. I am so thrilled
to be a part of the Charis family! It has been
such a journey to get here but everything is in His
timing. Currently, Peter and I have begun
trying for a little one and my hopes are that I can
finish the certification process before I give
birth. I am not pregnant yet but hopeful to be
able to share some news in the near future!!
Again I am so happy to be on this
journey and grateful for the Charis family.
Blessings, Misty Coffey
