Privacy Policy Consent

WholeHumanMama.com and GraemeSeabrook.com is owned by Graeme Seabrook (“Company”, “we”, or “us”). The term “you” refers to the user or viewer of WholeHumanMama.com and GraemeSeabrook.com (“Website”).

This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, process, and distribute your information, including Personal Data (as defined below) used to access this Website. We will not use or share your information with anyone except as described in this Privacy Policy. The use of information collected through our Sites shall be limited to the purposes under this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service to customers.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy on the Website at any time without notice. In the event of a material change, we will let you know via email and/or a prominent notice on our Website.

Use of any personal information or contribution that you provide to us, or which is collected by us on or through our Website or its content is governed by this Privacy Policy. By using our Website or its content, you consent to this Privacy Policy, whether or not you have read it.

Information We May Collect
We collect personal information from you so that we can provide you with a positive experience when utilizing our Website or content. We will only collect the minimum amount of information necessary for us to fulfill our obligation to you. We may collect:

  • A name and an email address so we can deliver our emails to you — you would be affirmatively consenting to this by providing this to us in our contact forms.
  • Billing information including name, address, and credit card information so that we can process payment to deliver our products or services to you under our contractual obligation.
  • A name and an email address if you complete our contact form with a question. We may send you marketing emails with either your consent or if we believe we have a legitimate interest to contact you based on your contact or question.
  • Information from you from a co-branded offer. In this case, we will make clear as to who is collecting the information and whose privacy policy applies. If both / all parties are retaining the information you provide, this will also be made clear as will links to all privacy policies.

Please note that the information above (“Personal Data”) that you are giving to us is voluntarily, and by providing this information to us, you are giving consent for us to use, collect, and process this Personal Data. You are welcome to opt-out or request for us to delete your Personal Data at any point by contacting us at graeme@graemeseabrook.com

If you choose not to provide us with certain Personal Data, you may not be able to participate in certain aspects of our Website or content.

Other Information We May Collect:

Anonymous Data Collection and Use
To maintain Website quality, we may use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server, to administer the Website by identifying which areas of the Website are most heavily used, and to display content according to your preferences. Your IP address is the number assigned to computers connected to the Internet. This is essentially “traffic data” which cannot personally identify you but is helpful to us for marketing purposes and for improving our services. Traffic data collection does not follow a user’s activities on any other websites in any way. Anonymous traffic data may also be shared with business partners and advertisers on an aggregate basis.

Use of “Cookies”
We may use the standard “cookies” feature of major web browsers. We do not set any personally identifiable information in cookies, nor do we employ any data-capture mechanisms on our Website other than cookies. You may choose to disable cookies through your own web browser’s settings. However, disabling this function may diminish your experience on our Website and some features may not work as intended.

What We Do With Information We Collect

Contact You

We may contact you with information that you provide to us based on these lawful grounds for processing:

  • We may contact you if you give us your clear, unambiguous, affirmative consent to contact you.
  • We will contact you under our contractual obligation to deliver goods or services you purchase from us.
  • Legitimate Interest. We may contact you if we feel you have a legitimate interest in hearing from us. For example, if you sign up for a webinar, we may send you marketing emails based on the content of that webinar.  You will always have the option to opt out of any of our emails.

Process Payments
We will use the Personal Data you give to us in order to process your payment for the purchase of goods or services under a contract. We only use third party payment processors that take the utmost care in securing data and comply with the GDPR.

Targeted Social Media Advertisements
We may use the data you provide to us to run social media advertisements and / or create look-alike audiences for advertisements.

Share with Third Parties
We may share your information with trusted third parties such as our newsletter provider in order to contact you via email, our merchant accounts to process payments, and Google / social media accounts in order to run advertisements and our affiliates.

Viewing by Others
Note that whenever you voluntarily make your Personal Data available for viewing by others online through this Website or its content, it may be seen, collected and used by others, and therefore, we cannot be responsible for any unauthorized or improper use of the information that you voluntarily share (i.e., sharing a comment on a blog post, posting in a Facebook group that we manage, sharing details on a group coaching call, etc.).

Submission, Storage, Sharing and Transferring of Personal Data
Personal Data that you provide to us is stored internally or through a data management system. Your Personal Data will only be accessed by those who help to obtain, manage, or store that information, or who have a legitimate need to know such Personal Data (i.e., our hosting provider, newsletter provider, payment processors, or team members).

It is important to note that we may transfer data internationally. For users in the European Union, please be aware that we transfer Personal Data outside of the European Union. By using our Website and providing us with your Personal Data, you consent to these transfers in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Data Retention
We retain your Personal Data for the minimum amount of time necessary to provide you with the information and / or services that you requested from us. We may include certain Personal Data for longer periods of time if necessary for legal, contractual, and accounting obligations.

Confidentiality
We aim to keep the Personal Data that you share with us confidential. Please note that we may disclose such information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that: (1) such action is necessary to protect and defend our rights or property or those of our users or licensees, (2) to act as immediately necessary in order to protect the personal safety or rights of our users or the public, or (3) to investigate or respond to any real or perceived violation of this Privacy Policy or of our Disclaimer, Terms and Conditions, or any other terms of use or agreement with us.

Passwords
To use certain features of the Website or its content, you may need a username and password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the username and password, and you are responsible for all activities, whether by you or by others, that occur under your username or password and within your account. We cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to protect your username, password, or account information. If you share your username or password with others, they may be able to obtain access to your Personal Data at your own risk.

You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized or improper use of your username or password or any other breach of security. To help protect against unauthorized or improper use, make sure that you log out at the end of each session requiring your username and password.

We will use our best efforts to keep your username and password(s) private and will not otherwise share your password(s) without your consent, except as necessary when the law requires it or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary, particularly when disclosure is necessary to identify, contact, or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to others or interfering with our rights or property.

How You Can Access, Update, or Delete Your Personal Data

You have the right to:

  • Request information about how your Personal Data is being used and request a copy of what Personal Data we use.
  • Restrict processing if you think the Personal Data is not accurate, unlawful, or no longer needed.
  • Rectify or erase Personal Data and receive confirmation of the rectification or erasure. (You have the “right to be forgotten.”)
  • Withdraw your consent at any time to the processing of your Personal Data.
  • Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you feel we are using your Personal Data unlawfully.
  • Receive Personal Data portability and transference to another controller without our hindrance.
  • Object to our use of your Personal Data.
  • Not be subject to an automated decision based solely on automatic processing, including profiling, which legally or significantly affects you.

You may unsubscribe from our emails or updates at any time through the unsubscribe link at the footer of all email communications. If you have questions or are experiencing problems unsubscribing, please contact us at graeme@graemeseabrook.com

Security
We take commercially reasonable steps to protect the Personal Data you provide to us from misuse, disclosure, or unauthorized access. We only share your Personal Data with trusted third parties who use the same level of care in processing your Personal Data. That being said, we cannot guarantee that your Personal Data will always be secure due to technology or security breaches. Should there be a data breach of which we are aware, we will inform you immediately.

Anti-Spam Policy
We have a no spam policy and provide you with the ability to opt-out of our communications by selecting the unsubscribe link at the footer of all emails. We have taken the necessary steps to ensure that we are compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 by never sending out misleading information. We will not sell, rent, or share your email address.

Third Party Websites
We may link to other websites on our Website. We have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of any other individual, company, or entity whose website or materials may be linked to our Website or its content, and thus we cannot be held liable for the privacy of the information on their website or that you voluntarily share with their website. Please review their privacy policies for guidelines as to how they respectively store, use, and protect the privacy of your Personal Data.

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance
We do not collect any information from anyone under 18 years of age in compliance with COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) and the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation of the EU). Our Website and its content is directed to individuals who are at least 18 years old or older.

Notification of Changes
We may use your Personal Data, such as your contact information, to inform you of changes to the Website or its content, or, if requested, to send you additional information about us. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, or otherwise alter our Website, its content, and this Privacy Policy at any time. Such changes and/or modifications shall become effective immediately upon posting our updated Privacy Policy. Please review this Privacy Policy periodically. Continued use of any of information obtained through or on the Website or its content following the posting of changes and/or modifications constituted acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. Should there be a material change to our Privacy Policy, we will contact you via email or by a prominent note on our Website.

Data Controller and Processors
We are the data controllers as we are collecting and using your Personal Data. We use trusted third parties as our data processors for technical and organizational purposes, including for payments and email marketing. We use reasonable efforts to make sure our data processors are GDPR-compliant.If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at graeme@graemeseabrook.com

Last Updated: January 2025

Before The Nest Is Empty

What if you took time to find yourself, to reclaim yourself, while you are still actively mothering?
January 16, 2025

This was originally published on my old blog between 2012 and 2020.

Empty Nest Syndrome is the feeling of emptiness and loneliness that many parents experience when their child or children leave home. It is not a recognized clinical illness. It's grief.

And change.

And a question: Who am I now?

The first morning without them. The house is quiet. The silence is loud. And you look in the mirror and wonder just who the hell you're supposed to be now.

But what if you didn't have to wonder?

What if instead of needing to find out who you are you never lost yourself in the first place?

What if you took time to find yourself, to reclaim yourself NOW, while you are still actively mothering?

WHAT IF YOU DIDN'T FEAR THE EMPTY NEST?

There will always be grief when a child leaves us to go out into the world. It is the end of something that has been a huge part of our lives and our identities for decades. But it doesn't have to be terrifying.

Start where you are.

Who are you, now? If you had to describe yourself without saying anything about your children, what would you say?

This can be the hardest part for mothers. So many of us have completely lost ourselves inside the role of "Mother" that we don't remember who we are, or who we were. So if you feel like you're getting stuck on this step, please know you are not alone.

Sit with this and let it take as long as it takes. One of the simplest ways to "meet yourself" is to daydream. Get to school pick up five minutes early. Sit in the parking lot of the grocery store, or your office, or literally anywhere for five minutes and just let your mind wander to YOU.

Remember your hopes, your dreams, your plans.

Remember your half-finished projects and long unused skills.

Remember yourself.

Because the truth is you never left. When you became a mother you did not unmake yourself. And no matter what society's expectations are, there is no reason for you to do so. You can dream yourself back. I know it sounds silly, sounds too simple, sounds ridiculous — but it works. It doesn't take a lot of time, or any money, or even a belief that it is possible.

All it takes is you thinking about YOU.

Small things will start to return. That you always wanted to learn how to bake, or woodwork, or write dirty haiku. Maybe you love to run or play basketball. Maybe you want to paint or read every book by a specific author. Maybe you want to give a TED Talk or set up a science lab in your basement.

Maybe your list is a mile long.

Maybe there is one thing in your heart.

RECLAIM YOURSELF

I wish that I could tell you there was a fast, easy way to do this. If I could snap my fingers and bring you back to yourself, I promise I would. But the truth is that while your self didn't disappear, it did change. We cannot pretend that motherhood leaves no mark, that it takes up no room, and that you can simply click your heels together three times and be back to your old self.

Or that you'd even want to.

What comes next is a journey of reclamation and integration. Seeing yourself fully — who you are, what you want, what you need — and remembering who you were and what you have. Those are all things that take time, that take work.

We are always becoming who we will be. And so there is always time to reclaim parts of yourself. Time to discover new ways for them to fit into your life.

  • Put yourself on your calendar. I'm not kidding. Make actual dates with yourself and make yourself a priority.
  • Make a commitment. Write it out, tell a friend, post it on social media — it doesn't matter. What matters is that you commit to bringing a part of the “old you” into your new life.
  • Get support. The outside world is going to tell you motherhood is all you need. You need people around you who will listen to your dreams and support you in making them a reality.
  • Build in accountability. Share your calendar with a friend. Post about your goals online. Ask your partner or a sibling to check in on you.

I'm not saying to run away and leave your four children to realize your dream of conducting chemistry experiments on the International Space Station. I'm saying find a chemistry class at a local university you can audit. Or an online course. Find a club on meetup.com or get a subscription box. I'm saying start keeping a science journal again with all the questions you'd like answered and all the experiments you'd like to run.

Remember your old self.

Bring them along as you keep becoming who you will be.

THE NEVER EMPTY NEST

And now the nest is never empty — even when the chicks fly away.

Yes, you will still worry about them. Yes, the silence will still be LOUD. Yes, you will miss them.

But you will not wonder who you are, now. You will not wonder how you'll fill your days. You will not have a million dreams that have been put on hold. There will be much less regret.

Because you will have been living your life all along and not simply existing next to the lives of your children. You will be able to enter the next phase of your life with joy and anticipation.

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