by Laura Kussman

Contributor

Sometimes, the universe has more significant plans for our lives than we have for ourselves.

At least that was the case for Raelene Casaday when she found out she was pregnant with her youngest daughter, Zoey — which was a big surprise.

“I felt nauseous, but I had no idea. I found myself craving orange juice, so my husband suggested I take a test. We were totally shocked,” Casaday said. “Zoey is Greek for life, I felt like she wanted to come to life. She’s our medical miracle. She’s so cool. She’s our Cancer, so real sensitive, a homebody. I couldn’t imagine life without her.”

Zoey was born on the summer solstice and says of her mom when prompted: “she’s nice and caring.”

Her older sister Viviane, however? Born on Christmas Eve three years earlier.

“My middle child is named after Viviane, the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legend. She came a week early, but I knew I’d be going to the hospital for a C-section.”

Casaday shares it was always part of her plan to go the natural route — she wanted home and water births, not hospitals. But when her first pregnancy led to an emergency, she changed her tune.

“After that, my doctor told me that since I have a tilted pelvis, I’d need to get a C-section if I ever did get pregnant again….It really humbled me to ask for help. I was so stubborn. I was so grateful the medical team was there for me, otherwise, we wouldn’t be here. That was a huge life lesson I needed to go through,” she said.

Before she became a mom, right before her 26th birthday, Casaday moved from Alaska to Bend, Oregon, where she met Dylan just one day after she arrived. Their love blossomed quickly. They ended up finding a rental that, to their surprise, was also the home of an exotic cat farm. Bobcats, tigers, lions and cougars all lived on their front lawn.

“I have a crazy connection to animals. It might sound a little woo-woo, but I find I receive messages from them. I’ve had orca whales come right up to me from the shore, I had a buffalo come to my driveway in Alaska, bears in my yard. When my dad passed, I experienced an eagle flying right by my window, and at that same moment, the lights flickered. Right after that, I got the call he was gone. I was able to pinpoint the eagle flying by right at the moment he passed.”

She says she was pregnant with her first child Ravevah at the same time one of the lionesses was expecting.

“Growing Ravevah in my belly, I would walk past these lions on my way to the river and the lions would roar. She’s a Leo, and so am I. But she has four planets in Leo. She’s fiery, she’s tough,” Casaday said. “I was trying home birth there at the farm. One of the female lions was giving birth and she ended up dying. I ended up being in labor for 30 hours and needed medical assistance, so it was rather symbolic.”

These experiences fostered Casaday’s natural aptitude for nurturing, a trait she had long before becoming a mother.

“I was one of those kinds of moms that nursed forever, at least a couple of years for each kid. I was always carrying them close to me, they slept in my bed,” she says. “I always knew I would be a mom, I’m just that personality. I had a dog for 15 years and people would say, ‘oh my god that dog is so spoiled and so lucky.’ But I definitely didn’t rush it. I was 28 when I had my first child.”

For two decades, Casaday has been a source of nourishment and care for clients in the spa industry in tandem with her family. Graduating from the Crestone Healing Arts Center in massage therapy, she worked and studied in several states, landing for the last 10 years on Orcas at Rosario Resort and Spa. In December 2021, she began mothering her own business, Salish Sea Skincare, as an esthetician offering facials, waxing, tinting and some body treatments in downtown Eastsound. She says she’s managed both – her career and her childrearing – with the same sustenance.

“I nurture my family, I nurture my clients,” she said.

When she was in middle school in the Bay Area, Casaday’s mom, who was a postal worker, came upon a postcard of the San Juan Islands one late night and resolved to move her family north. Casaday eventually did, after being transferred to a position on San Juan, and she found herself growing up where she now feels lucky to raise her own girls — Ravevah, 14, Viviane, 12 and Zoey, 8.

Her whole family, including Casaday’s own mother whom she refers to as “Grandma,” now all live in close proximity to one another in the same neighborhood on Orcas.

The following is Raelene Casaday in her own words.

How have your children taught you about yourself?

You don’t realize what the meaning of love is until you have children because it’s such a soul love. They’ve taught me patience. How to remain calm in chaotic situations, which I feel I’m good at. In jest: “I take a lot of deep breaths throughout the day.”

It’s been a realization of how much you can take on. It’s made me realize that I’m more badass than I could’ve ever thought. Having three kids, keeping the house together, running a business. It’s a lot, but I’m proud of it. Being a mom, it’s a thankless job. We’re not getting paid tons or getting thanked a lot, so it’s important to congratulate ourselves and nourish ourselves in little ways.

Did motherhood change anything about your relationship with your mom?

It made me more grateful for her, and appreciative of what she had to go through. I was a troublemaker. Fortunately, my daughter is not! I grew up in the Bay Area — born in Berkley, lived in Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek. She was a single mom with two kids so she was pretty tough. My great-grandmother helped raise me so that my mom could work.

What’s the most memorable Mother’s Day you’ve ever had?

My dad passed away in April last year (2021). When Mother’s Day came along, I woke up and noticed there was a mother eagle with three juveniles together up in a tree outside my window. We have a view over the water out in Deer Harbor. And, Eagles…that was kind of my dad and my thing. I knew that was a blessing from him. All my kids were excited, my husband was excited. I couldn’t believe the synchronicity. They stayed perched in the tree for hours as I was getting ready. Never have I seen the mother and three juveniles at the same time since.