Meet a Mom: Ann-Michael Drury of Austin Mom Walks - Greater Austin Moms

Welcome to our first Meet a Mom of 2023! There’s nothing like the support of other moms during the first few months with a new baby and Ann-Michael Drury saw the need for that community and has put together a wonderful way for mamas to move their bodies, meet other moms and build a village. Hope to see you at a walk soon! 

 

Hi Ann-Michael! I’m so excited to introduce you to our community. Let’s get started!

Hi, I’m Ann-Michael Drury! My husband, Zach, and I have been living in the Austin area for a little over four years now. I have lived all over Texas, North Carolina and Florida growing up, but claim Houston as my home. Zach and I left Houston when he was relocated for work shortly after we were married. Fortunately, I was able to relocate with my company as well. I work part time in Pharmaceutical Sales and absolutely love it. However, my favorite job is being a mom to our almost two-year-old, Evelyn. She is the light of our life and transitioning into the role of mom has been my greatest blessing! Having my morning coffee and going on long walks with her was so therapeutic for me during my maternity leave and a big part of what lead me to Austin Mom Walks!

What led you to Austin Mom Walks?

I am the oldest of seven children… crazy, right?! My youngest brother was born when I was 18 and I was able to be very hands-on for a lot of his infancy! When I was pregnant with Evelyn, I assumed all of the practice I had with my younger siblings, babysitting and church daycares would make me an expert when I had my own baby. Wow, was I wrong! Being a mom changes you in ways that you didn’t know were possible. I realized very quickly how badly you need other women around you in the same season of life!

For the first year after Evelyn was born, I kept having a tug on my heart that I wanted to create a platform for moms to connect and find community. I played around with serval ideas until one day when I was on TikTok and saw a viral video of a “mom walk”. In that moment, I knew that’s exactly what God wanted me to do and that’s when Austin Mom Walks was born. I created an Instagram, started posting reels of myself walking with coffee and messaged other moms inviting them to walk with me and share the walk with their friends.

Our first walk we had over 60 moms show up! I was honestly stunned by how many moms came, but also it just confirmed how desperately we all crave community. Now, I host walks 2 times a month with an additional play date or Moms Day Out event! My heart behind this is for moms to have a place where they can show up exactly as they are in any season of motherhood! As moms, we are giving constantly to others and I want this to be a place for moms to feel loved, seen and connected!

I have a lot of people ask me how I manage these walks with a job and honestly, my answer is we have the greatest nanny! We found her through NannyLane if you’re looking for help yourself. She has been such a gift to our lives and makes things so much easier for me to work, be a present mom and help build this community. We can’t walk this walk as moms alone, so finding great help and a great community has been so life giving. Austin Mom Walks is growing rapidly and I’m really excited to see what it looks like in 2023!

What are some of the biggest challenges you’re facing with Austin Mom Walks right now?

Honestly, the biggest challenge right now is moms wanting more walks and in more areas of Austin! It’s a great challenge to have because it proves how much we all love these walks. However, I am trying to be creative and find ways for other moms to help me host walks in different areas without over committing myself in the process.

What do y’all have coming up?

Our next walk will be February 25th and we also have a Mom’s Morning Out event on February 26th! All of the events are posted each month on austinmomwalks.com or you can find details on the Instagram page @austinmomwalks. I love our “Mom’s Day Out” events because it is an excellent way for us to connect on a deeper level without having a bunch of kiddos pulling on us. However, babies are always welcome to any of these events!

Where do you see your business in the next 5 years?

I hope that within the next five years, when a mom moves to Austin and asks how she can meet friends, the first response people give is Austin Mom Walks!!

 

What’s your favorite coffee spot in Austin?

We have been frequenting Merit Coffee quite a bit for our walks! The Seaholm District is such a fun place to let the kids play, drink a cup of coffee and then hit the trail!

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why and how long would you stay?

My husband and I love Europe! We haven’t been since pre pandemic and pre-baby so we are hoping to do a big Europe trip with Evelyn sometime this year!

Thanks so much for chatting with us, Ann-Michael! 

Be sure to follow @austinmomwalks and join for a walk soon!

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