For Her: The Heart Behind Grow Wellness

How My Mother’s Love Became the Soul of Grow Wellness

By: Kathleen Jaramillo Kweskin LMT RYT RMT,
​founder of Grow Wellness

I laid outside, 14 years old, in the pouring rain in the middle of June. I could swear I was feeling the heart beat of the earth as lightning cracked the sky and thunder rumbled thousands of cells in my body.
“Kathleen!” My mom’s voice rang out and I sat up.
She stood in the doorway with a dry towel, she had just let it tumble in the dryer so it was warm. She smiled and wrapped it around my shoulders and used another to ruffle and dry my hair.
My mother was warm and kind, yet reserved but she was always delighted with the wild child she had on her hands. She nurtured my spirit, always.

She had a number of sayings and most of them were centered around the word “love.” She’d say “don’tcha just love love?!” And through any moment of venting, she’d stop you and say “it’s because you have so much love in your heart.” It was an observation but it was also an encouragement, that love would be a guiding light through any obstacle.


My mother cared for people deeply, she felt for them. She showed up for people in a way that I haven’t seen since. I have a memory of her physically holding and rocking a grieving widow in our family. I remember her crocheting in her chair every day, blankets that always had an intended recipient. When you came into our home, she made you feel loved , sat you down at the kitchen table and asked how you were doing. I watched her take in, feed and clothe a little girl in my elementary school who had lost her mother to cancer. She would help elderly to their cars with their groceries. I even saw her once drive an elderly woman to her apartment with her groceries rather than watch her ride the bus. She went with this woman into her home and helped her put them away!

​She also didn’t care where you came from or what your status was. I remember her disappearing from a fancy gala dinner to hang out with the woman who handed out towels in the bathroom. My dad was about to go on stage and I found her in there giggling as they showed each other photos of their grandkids.

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Above all else, though, she was a fierce mother and loved us with every fiber of her being. She was devoted to her kids and believed in us more than we believed in ourselves. I remember having a hard time choosing a major going into college and I had a list of potentials. I looked at her and said “ok if you had to pick one, had to, which one?” And she said “whichever makes you happy. Pick happy. That’s all I want for you.” 

When she was diagnosed with cancer I was 16 years old. When I was 20, she slipped away forever. Her suffering was brutal that last month. I spent many years trying to pretend my grief wasn’t destroying my health. I craved her and I shut everything and everyone out. I wouldn’t talk about her, and when I’d think about her it would send me into a rage. Cue chronic depression, gran mal seizures, explosive acne, panic attacks, and more darkness than I’ll share in this particular article. 



​I caught a glimpse of relief in my junior year of college, I majored in psychology and international studies. I stumbled into post-traumatic growth courses and deep dives into religion and healing practices around the world. I began to see the light, my symptoms calmed.


But, it wasn’t enough. After graduation, I worked four jobs that summer and set off on a trip around the world. I targeted holy cities, healing practices, and more light to break the darkness. I lived in Spain, Peru, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and even Lao for a little bit. I lived in hostels, ashrams, and temples and studies with gurus, instructors, locals, religious leaders, and healers. The story of that trip can (and will someday) fill chapters of a book.


Most of all, I found her. I found my mother and she was within me the whole time. I surrendered to the beauty of grief and I knew that engaging in these healing practices was not just for me. I had to share it, she would want me to share it. 


Everything I did from that moment was to build Grow Wellness. A safe, warm and knowledgeable place influenced by worldly practices and integrative with western medicine. I obtained health department licenses in massage therapy as well as certifications in yoga, meditation, myofascial release, 3 levels of cupping therapy, sound therapy, 3 levels of reiki and energy healing, myoskeletal alignment, restorative practice, kinesiology taping, lymphatic cupping, and herbal aromatherapy. I began practicing, weaving in my heritage from New Mexico. Eventually, I made my way into spa management and business. 
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All the while, my mom was there. When things got tough, she kept me going. When the pandemic hit, I swear she kept my chin up. The world needed Grow Wellness, nothing exists like it.


Every week, we get some type of feedback from a client or a student that they feel safe here. That they feel amazing when they leave, simply supported and cared for. No one knows this, but I often go into my office to let a tear or two fall. Dramatic? You bet ya! But I just feel all of this so deeply.


It’s all rooted in the unlimited kindness and care my mom taught me. She made space for people to be supported and I follow her footsteps.


It’s all for you, our ever growing community. 
And it’s also all for her.

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