🌈 I belong exactly as I am.✨ My identity is worthy of celebration.💖 I deserve love without shrinking.🌟 There is no wrong way to be me.🦋 I am allowed to grow at my own pace.🏳️🌈 My joy is powerful.💜 I choose authenticity over approval.🌈 I belong exactly as I am.✨ My identity is worthy of celebration.💖 I deserve love without shrinking.🌟 There is no wrong way to be me.🦋 I am allowed to grow at my own pace.🏳️🌈 My joy is powerful.💜 I choose authenticity over approval.
Pride Playground is a joyful, creative and LGBTQ+ affirming space built around one simple idea: people deserve places where they can explore who they are without having to shrink themselves first.
Pride can be silly, thoughtful, healing, loud, soft, educational, artistic, deeply personal—or all of those things at once. This is a place for connection, self-expression, curiosity, community and belonging.
Pride Playground was created from a shared belief that learning, identity, relationships and sexuality deserve more curiosity, more honesty and a whole lot less shame.
Why we created Pride Playground
We wanted to build the kind of space we wish more people had: colorful, affirming, playful and real. A place where you can ask questions, explore who you are, practice new ways of connecting and discover what feels authentic to you—without being told there is only one right way to live or love.
For us, a playground isn't about having all the answers. It's about having enough safety and permission to explore.
Queer • Polyamorous • Co-Creators • Educators
Natillie Lynn Cottam-Read & Joel Read-Cottam
We are a queer, polyamorous couple who believe relationships, sexuality and identity deserve room for honesty, curiosity and choice. Pride Playground grew out of our shared love of learning, connection, play and creating spaces where people can explore who they are without shame or pressure.
We bring different strengths to the playground, but we teach from the same core values: consent, authenticity, communication, embodiment and the belief that there is no single right way to love, relate or build a meaningful life.
Kink & BDSM EducatorEthical Non-Monogamy EducatorBoundary & Communication FacilitatorConsent & Power Dynamics EducatorAuthentic Communication FacilitatorSex-Positive Community Educator
Come as you are. Play as you are.You don't have to know exactly who you're becoming to belong on the playground.
REDORANGEYELLOWGREENBLUEPURPLE
A little Pride magic
Spin the Pride Values Wheel
Every color carries a Pride Playground value. Tap SPIN and claim the message the rainbow lands on.
Your Pride value is waiting…
Tap SPIN and let the rainbow choose.
RED — LOVE & COURAGE
I love boldly. I choose bravery.
ORANGE — CREATIVITY & JOY
I give myself permission to play.
YELLOW — CONFIDENCE & SELF-WORTH
I deserve to take up space.
GREEN — HEALING & GROWTH
I am allowed to grow at my own pace.
BLUE — PEACE & AUTHENTICITY
I am safe to be myself.
PURPLE — MAGIC & QUEER POWER
My existence is powerful.
RED
Love & Courage
I love boldly. I choose bravery.
ORANGE
Creativity & Joy
I give myself permission to play.
YELLOW
Confidence & Self-Worth
I deserve to take up space.
GREEN
Healing & Growth
I am allowed to grow at my own pace.
BLUE
Peace & Authenticity
I am safe to be myself.
PURPLE
Magic & Queer Power
My existence is powerful.
Your Color • Your Message
What does your color mean?
After the wheel chooses your color, find it below. Each color carries a Pride Playground value and a little message to take with you.
RED — LOVE & COURAGEI love boldly. I choose bravery.ORANGE — CREATIVITY & JOYI give myself permission to play.YELLOW — CONFIDENCE & SELF-WORTHI deserve to take up space.GREEN — HEALING & GROWTHI am allowed to grow at my own pace.BLUE — PEACE & AUTHENTICITYI am safe to be myself.PURPLE — MAGIC & QUEER POWERMy existence is powerful.
↓ KEEP PLAYING ↓
✨ THE WONDER PLAYGROUND
What Are You Wondering?
A Wonder Question isn’t something you have to solve. It’s an invitation to get curious. There are no right answers—you can answer it, journal about it, talk about it, laugh at it, or simply let it follow you around for a while.
Instead of asking“What’s wrong with me?”try wondering“What might I discover about myself if I stopped judging this part of me?”
✦ 🌈 ✨ 🦋 ✦
Your Wonder Question is waiting… ✨
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What would you try if you knew nobody was judging you?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
Which version of yourself feels the most alive?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What have you been taught to hide that might actually be beautiful?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
Where in your life could you use more play?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What does your YES feel like in your body?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What would change if you trusted yourself 10% more?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
Who are you when you aren’t performing for anyone?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What rule about love would you rewrite?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What part of yourself deserves to be celebrated louder?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What are you curious about but haven’t given yourself permission to explore?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What would your younger self be delighted to know about you now?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What kind of belonging are you ready to create?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What feels wonderfully weird about you?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What would freedom look like if you designed it yourself?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
Where are you ready to take up a little more space?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What makes you feel unmistakably like YOU?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What are you proud of that nobody else can see?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What boundary might make more room for your joy?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What does your body know that your brain keeps debating?
YOUR WONDER QUESTION
What is one tiny way you could choose yourself today?
Don’t search for the perfect answer. Notice what shows up.
🌈 PRIDE FLAG EXPLORER
Tap a flag. Learn its story.
Pride flags can be little maps of identity, history and belonging. Tap a flag below to see its name, colors and a short explanation of what it represents.
PRIDE FLAG EXPLORER
Rainbow Pride Flag
A widely recognized symbol of LGBTQ+ pride, diversity and community.
RedOrangeYellowGreenBluePurple
The six-color rainbow flag is commonly associated with life, healing, sunlight, nature, serenity and spirit.
PRIDE FLAG EXPLORER
Progress Pride Flag
Builds on the rainbow flag by highlighting trans people, marginalized LGBTQ+ communities, and the ongoing work of inclusion.
RainbowWhitePinkBlueBrownBlack
The chevron points forward to represent progress while reminding us that inclusion is still an active process.
PRIDE FLAG EXPLORER
Transgender Pride Flag
Represents transgender people, gender diversity and pride in living as your authentic gender.
Light BluePinkWhite
The light blue and pink reference traditional gender colors, while white represents people who are transitioning, intersex, or have a neutral or undefined gender.
PRIDE FLAG EXPLORER
Bisexual Pride Flag
Represents bisexual people and attraction to more than one gender.
PinkPurpleBlue
The colors are commonly described as representing same-gender attraction, attraction across genders, and the overlap between them.
PRIDE FLAG EXPLORER
Pansexual Pride Flag
Represents pansexual people and attraction that is not limited by gender.
PinkYellowBlue
The colors are often associated with attraction to women, nonbinary or gender-diverse people, and men.
PRIDE FLAG EXPLORER
Lesbian Pride Flag
Represents lesbian identity, community, love and pride.
Dark OrangeOrangeWhitePinkDark Rose
This commonly used sunset-style lesbian flag is associated with gender nonconformity, independence, community, unique relationships to womanhood, serenity, love and femininity.
PRIDE FLAG EXPLORER
Nonbinary Pride Flag
Represents people whose gender is not exclusively man or woman.
YellowWhitePurpleBlack
The colors are commonly associated with genders outside the binary, people with many or all genders, genders blending male and female, and people without gender.
PRIDE FLAG EXPLORER
Asexual Pride Flag
Represents asexual people and the asexual spectrum.
BlackGrayWhitePurple
The colors are commonly associated with asexuality, gray-asexuality and demisexuality, sexuality or non-asexual partners and allies, and community.
PRIDE FLAG EXPLORER
Aromantic Pride Flag
Represents aromantic people and the aromantic spectrum.
Dark GreenLight GreenWhiteGrayBlack
The greens are associated with aromantic identity, while the neutral colors are commonly connected with diverse experiences of attraction and sexuality.
PRIDE FLAG EXPLORER
Genderfluid Pride Flag
Represents people whose gender identity can shift or change over time.
PinkWhitePurpleBlackBlue
The colors are commonly associated with femininity, all genders, a mix of masculinity and femininity, lack of gender, and masculinity.
PRIDE FLAG EXPLORER
Intersex Pride Flag
Represents intersex people and bodily autonomy, wholeness and community.
YellowPurple
The flag uses a purple circle on yellow. Its creator chose colors not traditionally associated with gender, and the unbroken circle symbolizes wholeness and completeness.
Flag meanings can be personal and community interpretations can evolve. These are short, commonly used explanations meant as a friendly starting point.
💞 LOVE LANGUAGE PLAYGROUND
What helps you feel connected?
There is no single “right” way to receive love. Tap anything below that makes your body go yes, that feels good. Choose as many as you want. You may notice one strong pattern—or discover that your connection style changes depending on the person, relationship, or day.
This isn’t a test.It’s a curiosity exercise. Your preferences can overlap, change, and be completely your own.
🤲
Touch
Connection through physical closeness, affection, sensation and embodied presence.
💬
Words
Connection through reassurance, appreciation, encouragement and being spoken to with care.
🕰️
Time
Connection through attention, presence and feeling deliberately chosen.
🎁
Gifts
Connection through thoughtful objects, surprises and little reminders that someone noticed you.
🫶
Care
Connection through helpful action, consideration and someone making life a little easier.
🎠
Play
Connection through laughter, silliness, adventure, teasing, creativity and shared delight.
✨ NOTICE YOUR PATTERN
Where did you tap the most?
Look back at your highlighted choices. Which section has the most little YES moments? That may be one of your strongest connection languages right now.
One section lit up?That may be a very clear way you recognize care.
Several sections lit up?You may have a beautifully mixed connection style.
Almost everything lit up?You might care less about the category and more about intention, safety or who it comes from.
Your answers depend on the person?That’s useful information too. Love languages can be relational, not fixed personality types.
💭 Wonder: Do you tend to GIVE love the same way you like to RECEIVE it?
💌 PERMISSION SLIP GENERATOR
You officially have permission.
Sometimes we know what we want, but we’re still waiting for somebody to hand us permission. So here it is. Tap the button and let Pride Playground give you one tiny permission slip for today.
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to…
find out.
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
change your mind.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
take up space.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
say no without explaining yourself.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
flirt.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
rest.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
be uncertain.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
be ridiculously excited.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
ask for what you want.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
leave early.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
stay soft.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
wear the thing.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
be awkward.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
choose yourself.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
need reassurance.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
want something different today.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
outgrow an old version of yourself.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
stop performing.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
be proud before you feel finished.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
protect your peace.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
try again.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
be seen.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
go slowly.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
be loud.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
be private.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
love differently.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
not have all the answers.No justification required.
say yes because you actually mean yes.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
PRIDE PLAYGROUND PERMISSION SLIP
Today, you have permission to
be exactly as queer as you feel.No justification required.
Signed: Your wonderfully human self ✨
🖨️ MAKE IT OFFICIAL
Print Your Own Permission Slip
Type your name and it will appear right on the rainbow permission slip. Then print your personalized copy to take home.
Your name appears on the For: line above.
The print button works best once the website is opened in a regular browser or hosted online.
Keep the one that lands. Ignore the ones that don’t. You’re still the authority on you.
More than a rainbow
What we make room for
Authentic identity
Different identities, bodies, pronouns, families and ways of loving all deserve room to exist without apology.
Consent & boundaries
Curiosity never creates obligation. A wholehearted yes matters, a no is sacred, and boundaries help connection feel safer.
Creative expression
Art, play, clothing, stories, movement, color and imagination give us endless ways to explore and celebrate who we are.
Joy
Pride can be serious and meaningful—and it can also be ridiculous, bright, playful and full of laughter.
Learning
We create room for thoughtful conversations about identity, relationships, communication, embodiment and connection.
Belonging
People shouldn't have to perform sameness to belong. The playground gets better when everyone brings their own color.
Why a playground?
Because playgrounds are where we experiment.
We try things. We get curious. We make friends. We imagine. We discover what feels like us.
Pride Playground brings that spirit into community, creativity, relationships and personal growth. There is no single right way to be queer, to love, to build a family or to move through the world.
Consent is cool.
No is a complete sentence.
Yes should be wholehearted.
Curiosity is not obligation.
Pronouns matter.
Boundaries matter.
Joy matters.
There is room for your color.
Adults Only
Birds & Bees + Adult Shop
Our adult sex-education classes and sex-toy merchandise live in a separate 21+ area.
Classes, community gatherings, Pride pop-ups and playful learning experiences. Dates, pricing and ticket links can be added as soon as each event is confirmed.
21+
DateComing Soon
Birds & the Bees: 10-Class Series
A consent-centered journey through desire, chemistry, touch, boundaries, play, relationships, repair and emotional intelligence.
September 26 • 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM275 E. 900 S., St. George, UT 84770
Come play, shop, explore, and celebrate with us at Pride! Find colorful Pride Playground goodies, gifts, apparel, pet items and plenty of joyful playground energy.
🌈 Pride Playground merchandise🎁 Gifts & colorful finds🐾 Prideful Pets goodies✨ Come play. Be you. Glow up.
📸 PRIDE PLAYGROUND PHOTO SPOT
Find us at our booth & get your picture taken!
Step into our colorful Pride Playground frame, strike a pose, bring your people, and capture a little piece of Pride joy.
🌈 All Ages💞 Friends & Family✨ Come As You Are
THIS IS WHAT PRIDE LOOKS LIKE — and we want YOU in the picture.
Stop by our Pride Booth for a cloud of colorful cotton candy! Choose a Pride-inspired flavor,
enjoy something sweet, and help us support queer youth education.
✨ Suggested contribution: $2All proceeds from cotton candy are dedicated to queer youth education and college expenses.
Pick your Pride-inspired flavor:
Loud & Proud Lime • Berry Queer • Tangerine True Self • Blue Raspberry Belonging •
Trans Tangerine Twist • Bubblegum Chosen Family • Watermelon Wonder • Bisexual Banana
Pride Playground is not a 501(c)(3). Contributions are not represented as tax-deductible charitable donations.
You belong here
Come curious. Come colorful. Come exactly as you are.
Pride Playground is growing into a home for events, classes, creative projects, books, community experiences and plenty of playful Pride.
Playful, body-aware sex education about consent, desire, communication, chemistry, touch, relationships, repair and emotional intelligence. Curiosity is enough.
What is The Birds & The Bees?
Sex education without the judgment.
We’ve created a fun, welcoming space for our community to explore sex education with curiosity instead of shame. Think of it as a cozy, playful workshop where adults can learn more about their bodies, sexuality and identities through mindfulness, conversation and hands-on learning.
We invite you to reflect, reframe old messages and build a more positive, authentic relationship with sexuality. You don’t have to be experienced, partnered, kinky or sexually adventurous to belong here. Curiosity is enough.
Judgment-FreeConsent-CenteredBody-AwarePlayful21+
01ConsentYes, No & Maybe+
Learn the language of consent in a way that is embodied, practical and usable in real relationships.
What we'll explore
Notice your body’s yes, no and maybe signals
Practice asking without pressure
Receive a no without persuasion or collapse
Understand that attention, curiosity and attraction are not permission
21+ adult educationConsent-centeredParticipation is always optional
Explore how to recognize what you’re feeling, understand what those emotions may be communicating, and respond with greater awareness instead of simply reacting.
What we'll explore
Recognize and name emotions with more clarity
Notice the difference between feelings, thoughts, and reactions
Practice self-awareness and emotional regulation
Build empathy without abandoning yourself
Communicate emotions with honesty and responsibility
Respond to difficult moments with greater intention
21+ adult educationConsent-centeredParticipation is always optional
Explore intimacy as the courage to be known—building connection through vulnerability, presence, emotional consent, trust, and allowing yourself to be truly seen and loved.
What we'll explore
Practice vulnerability without abandoning your boundaries
Explore presence and emotional consent
Build trust through authenticity and communication
Notice what helps you feel safe enough to be seen
Practice allowing yourself to know and be known
21+ adult educationConsent-centeredParticipation is always optional
Bring an open mind and whatever helps you feel comfortable. For pool-based events, easy slip-on shoes, a towel and sunscreen are useful. Clothing and participation expectations will always be stated for the individual event.
Nudity may be welcomed at designated adult events, but it is never required. Watching, passing, changing your mind and choosing a lower-intensity version of an exercise are all valid forms of participation.
Interested?
Register or Join the Waitlist
Each class is $25. Use any Register button to open the Pride Playground registration form. You can choose your class and complete your registration there.
A curated adult shop built around curiosity, consent, body-safety and fun. Actual inventory, photos and checkout links can be connected once you choose what you want to carry.
01
Pleasure Toys
Body-safe products for solo or partnered exploration.
Inventory coming soon
02
Lubricants & Body Care
Comfort-focused intimacy and body-care essentials.
Inventory coming soon
03
Connection Games
Cards, prompts and playful tools for communication and intimacy.
Inventory coming soon
04
Kink & Sensory Play
Beginner-friendly accessories for consensual sensation and exploration.
Inventory coming soon
05
Books & Workbooks
Educational resources about relationships, desire, embodiment and communication.
Inventory coming soon
06
Gift Bundles
Curated grown-up bundles for date nights, connection and playful discovery.
Inventory coming soon
21+ • Consent-centered • Body-safe focusedWe can build your real product catalog here next.
Upcoming Author Event
Book Signing at Pride! 🌈📚
Come meet Natillie Lynn Cottam-Read at Pride in St. George, celebrate My First Pride, pick up a book, and have it signed.
All Ages
My First Pride — Author Signing
September 2611:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Pride in St. GeorgeCome say hi, get your book signed, and celebrate Pride.
📚 Books available for purchase✍️ Meet the author & get your book signed📸 Bring your smiles & take a photo🌈 Kids, families & grown-ups welcome
Meet Natillie Lynn Cottam-Read and explore the latest books, covers and interactive book experiences.
About the Author
Natillie Lynn Cottam-Read
Natillie Lynn Cottam-Read, MRET, is an author, educator, healer and lifelong storyteller who writes from the places where real life, imagination and transformation meet.
Their work explores grief, identity, embodiment, relationships, healing, wonder and the beautifully complicated experience of being human. Natillie also writes children’s stories inspired by real-life family adventures—turning ordinary moments, big imaginations and childhood discoveries into books filled with heart.
Whether writing for grown-ups or children, Natillie’s invitation is much the same: stay curious, tell the truth, make room for wonder, and discover what becomes possible when we are allowed to be fully ourselves.
Sometimes grief doesn’t need advice. Sometimes it needs one gentle permission at a time.
Touch the hummingbird to receive a little permission. 💜
“You don’t have to make meaning today.”
“Missing them is another shape of loving them.”
“You are allowed to miss who you were before the loss.”
“Grief does not need to be productive.”
“You can laugh today and still love who you lost.”
“There is no deadline for remembering.”
“You are allowed to have a good day.”
“You do not have to carry every memory at once.”
“Some days, surviving the wave is enough.”
“Love can remain even when someone cannot.”
“You may speak their name.”
“You may change while still carrying them with you.”
“Rest is allowed inside grief.”
“You do not have to explain why today hurts.”
“Joy is not a betrayal of grief.”
“You can hold gratitude and heartbreak in the same heart.”
“You are allowed to grieve what never got to happen.”
“There is no correct way to remember.”
“You can put the grief down for a moment without abandoning your love.”
“Today, you only have to meet the moment you are in.”
Take what helps. Leave what doesn’t. There is no right way to grieve.
Testimony & Healing
Unveiled
A Daughter’s Testimony After Spiritual Sexual Abuse. A testimony of survival, truth-telling and healing after spiritual and sexual harm.
Coming SoonRead More About This Book
A daughter’s testimony of truth, survival and healing.
Unveiled: Broken Silence follows the difficult territory where spiritual authority, sexuality, shame and trauma intersect. It is a testimony about naming what happened, reclaiming personal truth and discovering that healing does not require protecting the systems or people that caused harm. The book makes room for anger, grief, complexity and the possibility of becoming more fully your own.
Choose a doorway. You don’t have to tell your whole story. Begin with one true thing.
Choose a prompt above.
Tell your story.
You don’t have to make it pretty. You don’t have to make it inspirational. You don’t even have to finish it. Just tell one true thing.
Nothing you type here is submitted to the website.
I AM ONE OF MANY
One story is personal. A thousand stories are a movement.
I unveiled my grief.I unveiled my queerness.I unveiled the family secret.I unveiled my anger.I unveiled the life I actually wanted.I unveiled my softness.I unveiled that I didn’t have it all together.I unveiled myself.
Public story submissions can be added later with consent, privacy choices, and moderation. For now, this space belongs only to you.
Letters & Legacy
Open When… Letters from Mom
Love, wisdom and words to return to during the moments when a mother’s voice is needed most.
Coming Soon🌿 Open the Mother Earth Guided Imagery
🌿 Mother Earth to You — Guided Imagery
A Guided Imagery for the Mother Wound
Let yourself be held without having to earn it.
You do not have to forgive, reconcile, or excuse harm to participate in this experience. This is simply an invitation to explore what it might feel like to receive some of the qualities of mothering—holding, nourishment, witnessing, safety—from the earth itself.
Find a position where your body can be supported.
You don’t need to relax perfectly.
You don’t need to feel anything particular.
Just notice that beneath you, something is holding your weight.
Imagine the earth underneath you—not only as dirt or stone, but as something ancient enough to have held every version of you.
The child you were.
The person you became.
The parts of you that learned to need less.
The parts that learned not to ask.
And the parts that are still waiting to be gathered close.
Imagine roots beginning beneath your body. Not roots that trap you. Roots that say, You may belong here without earning it.
And somewhere deep beneath you, Mother Earth whispers:
You never had to be easier to love.
You never had to become smaller to be held.
You were never supposed to mother everyone while abandoning yourself.
Notice what happens in your body when you hear those words.
You don’t have to agree with them yet.
Just let them exist beside you.
Perhaps there is a younger you somewhere nearby.
Don’t call them closer.
Don’t make them trust you.
Simply let them see that you came.
And if they choose to approach, make room.
Let the earth hold both of you.
There is nothing you have to fix here.
Maybe healing the mother wound isn’t finding the perfect mother in the past.
Maybe part of healing is discovering all the places mothering can come from now.
The earth.
Your body.
Safe people.
Community.
Your own hands.
The life you’re building.
Place a hand somewhere on your body that feels comfortable and imagine saying:
I am learning how to stay with you.
I am learning how to listen when you need something.
I am learning how to become a safe place for you.
And underneath all of it, the earth continues to hold you.
No test.
No debt.
No requirement to forgive.
Just ground beneath you.
When you’re ready, notice the room again.
Feel what is supporting your body.
Let your eyes find light and shape.
And take one question with you:
What would it mean to mother myself today—not perfectly, but tenderly?
Take your time returning.You may want to journal, rest, drink water, step outside, or simply let the experience be enough.
Books in Writing
Coming Soon
The Tease Me Teas Oracle — Secrets of the Leaves Coming Soon
🍵 Open Ask the Leaves Bonus
🍵 Ask the Leaves
Choose the tea-leaf picture that catches your attention first. Tap it to reveal its message.
The Spiral
Something is returning—not to repeat itself, but to be understood differently.
Sip with: cinnamon or chai
Wonder: What am I ready to see differently this time?
The Hummingbird
Joy is near. Notice the sweetness in the little things.
Sip with: hibiscus or rose
Wonder: Where can I invite more joy today?
The Heart
Love is involved. Yours or theirs. Open gently.
Sip with: rose or chocolate tea
Wonder: How can I soften and receive?
The Tree
You are rooted. Growth is happening beneath the surface.
Sip with: peppermint or green tea
Wonder: What am I building that will last?
The Butterfly
Transformation is unfolding. Trust your becoming.
Sip with: lavender or chamomile
Wonder: What am I ready to release?
The Body as Spell
✨ Open the Body Spell Bonus
Draw a Body Spell
Choose the spell that calls to you. Tap one to open it.
🔥 Fire — Desire
Place a hand where you feel desire. Ask: What do I want when nobody is watching?
Turn it into a spell: Name your intention → notice the strongest sensation → move with it → speak one true sentence → close with a hand over your heart.
🌙 Moon — Receiving
Soften your shoulders. Take three slow breaths. Ask: What am I willing to receive?
Turn it into a spell: Choose one thing to receive → open your palms → breathe into your chest → whisper yes → bring your hands together.
🌹 Rose — Pleasure
Choose one sensation that feels delicious—warmth, softness, scent, or movement—and give it your full attention.
Turn it into a spell: Choose your pleasure → locate it in the body → amplify it gently → give it a word → thank your body.
🖤 Shadow — Truth
Notice where your body tightens. Ask: What truth is my body holding that my mouth has not said?
Turn it into a spell: Find the tension → breathe toward it → name the truth privately → move with it → close with a boundary or promise.
✨ Star — Embodiment
Stand, stretch, or sway in whatever way your body asks. No performance. Just listening.
Turn it into a spell: Notice the impulse → follow it → let sound or breath join → choose one word for how you feel → close in stillness.
Inner Alchemy Through Improv — The Unscripted Self Coming Soon
🎭 The Unscripted Self — Improv Activity
Pick a prompt. Don’t think. Just begin.
Tap the button to reveal your first improv prompt.
✨ Alchemy Question
What surprised you about the version of yourself that showed up?
MULTICONSCIOUS — A Guide to Living Beautifully in a Many-Minded World Coming Soon
Children’s Books
Big imagination. Real-life wonder.
Playful, affirming stories inspired by family life, imagination, curiosity and the belief that children deserve books that feel alive.
My First Pride
A bright, affirming introduction to Pride, belonging and being exactly who you are.
Coming Soon
Available Feature
🌈 Explore My First Pride
Interactive Activity Page
Explore My First Pride 🌈
There is no one right way to be you. Use this page to talk, wonder, draw, notice, and celebrate what makes you feel like yourself.
💬 Parent & Caregiver Conversation Guide
Talk • Wonder • Play
For Grown-Ups Who Read With Kids
You don’t need to turn reading time into a lesson. Choose one or two questions, follow the child’s curiosity, and let their answers lead.
💬
TALK
What does being yourself mean to you?
What makes you feel like you belong?
How can we help someone feel included?
What are some different ways families can look?
What did you notice about the people celebrating Pride?
>
✨
WONDER
If everyone could shine in their own color, what color would you be today?
What do you think makes a place feel safe to be yourself?
What might the world look like if everyone felt they belonged?
How can you show someone, “There is room for you here”?
What is something wonderful about being you?
🎨
PLAY
Make a Belonging Flag: draw colors, symbols, people, pets, places, and things that make you feel at home.
Pride Compliment Circle: take turns naming something wonderful about each person.
Rainbow Hunt: find one object for every color of the rainbow.
Draw Your Pride Parade: who would come, what would you wear, and what would your sign say?
Let curiosity lead. “That’s a great question—let’s wonder about it together” is a perfectly good response.
Keep it simple. Young children usually need language about love, families, names, pronouns, belonging, kindness, and being yourself.
Make room for difference. The goal isn’t to tell children who they should become. It’s to help them understand that different people and families still deserve kindness, dignity, and belonging.
Bridgeton and the Case of the Missing Snow Boot
A playful winter mystery full of curiosity and imagination.
Coming Soon
Available Feature
✨ Open This Book Experience
💬 TALK
What clues would you look for first?
Have you ever lost something important?
Who would make a good detective partner?
✨ WONDER
What if the missing boot could talk—where would it say it went?
What ordinary thing could become a mystery today?
What makes someone good at noticing clues?
🎨 PLAY
Hide an object and make a three-clue scavenger hunt.
Draw your own detective badge.
Invent a silly case for the Playground Detective Agency.
Cambriella and Her Slime Creations
A colorful celebration of creativity, experimentation and gloriously messy fun.
Coming Soon
Available Feature
✨ Open This Book Experience
💬 TALK
What do you like to make with your hands?
How do you feel when an experiment doesn’t work the first time?
What is the messiest thing you’ve ever created?
✨ WONDER
What slime color has never existed before?
What would magical slime be able to do?
What might happen if two completely different ideas got mixed together?
🎨 PLAY
Invent a slime recipe on paper.
Design a label for your own slime creation.
Make a list of the strangest things your imaginary slime could do.
The Playground Spy Detectives
A playground adventure powered by observation, teamwork and big imagination.
Coming Soon
Available Feature
✨ Open This Book Experience
💬 TALK
What details do you notice that other people might miss?
What makes a good teammate?
When is pretending more fun with someone else?
✨ WONDER
What secret mission could be hiding at your playground?
If a bench were a spy headquarters, what would be inside?
What would your spy code name be?
🎨 PLAY
Create a secret code and write a message.
Make a spy ID card.
Go on a five-minute observation mission and list what you notice.
Bridgeton and the Superpowers of Those Before Him
A story about legacy, family and discovering strength in those who came before us.
Coming Soon
Available Feature
✨ Open This Book Experience
💬 TALK
What strengths do people in your family have?
What is something someone older has taught you?
What kind of strength are you proud of in yourself?
✨ WONDER
What superpower might have traveled through your family?
What would your ancestors want you to remember?
What gift might you pass on to someone after you?
🎨 PLAY
Create a family superpower shield.
Draw yourself with an inherited superpower.
Ask a family member for a story from when they were young.
Printable Activity
My Family Superpowers Tree 🌳✨
Every family carries stories, strengths, talents, traditions, and ways of loving. Fill in the people who came before you—or the people who helped shape you—and name one “superpower” you see in each of them.
✦ ✨ ✦
MY FAMILY SUPERPOWERS TREE
Bridgeton and the Superpowers of Those Before Him
This belongs to:
Grandparent / Ancestor
Grandparent / Ancestor
Grandparent / Ancestor
Grandparent / Ancestor
Parent / Caregiver
Parent / Caregiver
ME
What did I discover?
For best results, print on standard 8½ × 11 paper in portrait orientation.
Children’s Books in the Making
Coming Soon
Cambriella and Her Invisible Friend
A gentle story about imagination, connection and the friends only some hearts can see.
Coming Soon
Cambriella’s Big Imagination
A dreamy adventure celebrating imagination, wonder and the worlds children create.
Coming Soon
Bridgeton and Cambriella’s Time Machine
A playful journey through favorite memories, curiosity and time.
Coming Soon
Bridgeton & Cambriella: The Dragon Band
A joyful musical adventure full of imagination, laughter and dragons.
Welcome to our community bragging wall—in the very best way. This is a place to celebrate queer joy, courage, chosen family, love, identity and the moments that made you proud to be exactly who you are.
📣
Brag a Little. You’ve Earned It.
Tell us about coming out, finding your people, choosing your name, loving differently, building chosen family, wearing the outfit, setting the boundary, raising a proud kid, surviving something hard—or simply waking up and choosing to be more YOU.
Names & Pronouns
Tell us who you are. 💛
Every story includes the name and pronouns the storyteller wants us to use. Chosen names are celebrated here. You can also share anonymously.
Alexthey/them
“I wore what I wanted.”
For the first time, I went to Pride dressed like myself instead of dressing to make everyone else comfortable. I looked in the mirror and thought, there you are.
Mayashe/her
“My wife reached for my hand.”
We walked through Pride holding hands without checking who was watching. Such a tiny thing—and somehow it felt enormous.
Jordanhe/him
“They finally called me Dad.”
Our family doesn’t look traditional, but it is overflowing with love. The first time my kid called me Dad, I knew family is something we build.
Riverthey/she
“I stopped explaining myself.”
I spent years trying to make my identity understandable to everyone else. My proudest moment was realizing I don’t need a PowerPoint presentation to deserve respect.
Mateohe/him
“I brought my boyfriend home.”
I was terrified. Then my little sister asked if he wanted pizza. That ordinary little moment meant more to me than she will ever know.
Skyeshe/they
“I chose my name.”
The first time someone called me Skye without hesitating, I smiled for the rest of the day. My name feels like a little piece of freedom.
Christhey/them
“I found chosen family.”
I used to think belonging meant convincing people to accept me. Now I know belonging can also mean finding the people who already do.
Elenashe/her
“I took my daughter to Pride.”
She painted a rainbow on my cheek and told me she was proud of our family. I thought I was taking her to Pride. Somehow she gave Pride back to me.
Jaxhe/they
“I danced in public.”
No hiding at the edge. No wondering if I looked too queer. I danced terribly, enthusiastically and completely as myself. Ten out of ten.
Samany pronouns
“I’m still figuring it out.”
My Pride story isn’t a finished story. I don’t have every label or answer yet. I’m proud that I finally gave myself permission to be curious.
✨ Share Your Pride Story
Short, long, funny, tender or triumphant—we want the real you. You can be credited by first name, chosen name, initials or anonymously. Nothing is posted without permission.
Help us build brighter futures. Contributions through Pride Playground are dedicated
to education and college expenses for queer youth.
💜
Help grow a queer youth college fund.
Funds received are dedicated to educational and college-related expenses for queer youth,
helping create more opportunity, independence, and possibility for their future.
🎓
College Expenses
Support can go toward tuition and other education-related college expenses.
📚
Books & Supplies
Helping cover textbooks, learning materials, school supplies, and educational tools.
🌱
Invest in Their Future
Education creates choices. Every contribution helps build a stronger foundation for queer youth to learn, grow, and thrive.
Contribute with Venmo 💜
Scan the Venmo code below and send your contribution to @Natillie.
Please add “Queer Youth Education” in the payment note so it can be tracked for the college fund.
@Natillie
Scan with your phone camera or the Venmo app
$10$25$50$100Any Amount
Viewing this on your phone? Take a screenshot of the QR code and open it from Venmo’s scanner,
or search @Natillie in Venmo.
Please note: Pride Playground is not a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Contributions are not tax-deductible as charitable donations. Funds received through this
campaign are dedicated to queer youth education and college expenses.
💜 Crisis & Support Resources
You deserve support.
If you’re overwhelmed, hurting, thinking about suicide, or just need someone to talk to,
you do not have to handle it alone. These services offer immediate support in the U.S.
988
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Free, confidential, judgment-free crisis support 24/7.
Questions about classes, books, vending, collaborations or bringing Pride Playground to your event? Send us a note. We’d love to hear what you’re dreaming up.
General Questions
Talk to Pride Playground
Use this for community questions, merchandise, books, partnerships or anything you’re not quite sure where to put.
This form is designed and ready. When the website is hosted, we can connect it to your preferred email/form service so submissions actually arrive in your inbox.
Be you. Be curious. Stay connected.Pride Playground • Community • Education • Creativity • Play
f
Connect with Pride Playground on FacebookFollow along for Pride Playground updates, events, photos, and community fun.
Step into our colorful Pride Playground frame, strike a pose, bring your people, and capture a little piece of Pride joy.
🌈 All Ages💞 Friends & Family✨ Come As You Are
THIS IS WHAT PRIDE LOOKS LIKE — and we want YOU in the picture.
Private RET Sessions
Rapid Eye Therapy with Natillie Lynn Cottam-Read, MRET
Rapid Eye Therapy • Specializing in Grief & Sexual Trauma
A gentler way to meet what your body has been carrying.
Rapid Eye Therapy offers a focused, compassionate space to work with emotional patterns, grief, trauma responses, and the places where you feel stuck—without requiring you to relive every detail of your story.
Sessions are tailored to the person in front of me. There is no single “right” way to heal, grieve, process, or make meaning.
Grief & Loss
Support for death loss, complicated grief, relationship endings, identity shifts, and the grief that comes with life changing shape.
Sexual Trauma
Consent-centered, compassionate support for the lasting effects sexual trauma can have on body safety, trust, intimacy, boundaries, shame, and your sense of personal choice.
Patterns & Triggers
Explore repeated emotional reactions, relationship patterns, fear responses, shame, or beliefs that no longer fit who you are becoming.
Life Transitions
Grounded support through divorce, caregiving, major change, spiritual shifts, empty nesting, or other seasons of becoming.
Sexual Trauma & Body Safety
Consent-centered support focused on restoring choice, boundaries, embodied safety, and compassionate connection with self.
Personal Growth
You do not need to be in crisis. RET can also support clarity, confidence, self-trust, and movement toward the life you want.
WHY “PLAYGROUND”?
Healing can include curiosity, wonder & play.
Pride Playground Processing is called a playground for a reason.
A playground is a place to explore, experiment, notice what feels right, discover
your edges, and try something new without having to already know the answer.
Trauma and grief can make life feel small, serious, guarded, or stuck in survival.
Processing does not mean pretending painful experiences were not painful. It means
creating enough safety to become curious again—to notice your choices, reconnect
with your body, and imagine possibilities beyond what happened to you.
Here, play is not about minimizing pain. It is about restoring
possibility. You are invited to wonder, question, feel, laugh, cry, pause, say no,
change your mind, and discover what feels authentic to you.
🌈
You do not have to perform healing here.
You get to explore it.
✨
Curiosity
What becomes possible when judgment gives way to wondering?
🫶
Choice
Your yes, your no, your pace, and your boundaries matter.
🌱
Possibility
Healing can make room for ways of being that survival once made difficult.
💜
Authenticity
Come as you are. Explore what feels true for you.
Specializing in Grief & Sexual Trauma
Support for the experiences that can change how you move through the world.
My work is especially focused on grief, loss, sexual trauma, and the emotional patterns trauma can leave behind. The process is compassionate, consent-centered, and paced around you.
Grief & Loss
Grief is not something you simply “get over.” It can live in the body, affect relationships, change your sense of identity, and reshape the way you experience the world. Whether you are grieving a death, pregnancy or infant loss, the end of a relationship, a major life transition, or another profound loss, our work creates space for your grief without rushing it. Rapid Eye Therapy can support work with emotional overwhelm, painful memories, beliefs, and patterns connected to loss while honoring the love and meaning that remain.
Sexual Trauma
Sexual trauma can affect far more than memories of what happened. It may influence your relationship with your body, intimacy, sexuality, boundaries, trust, safety, and your ability to feel fully present. My approach is consent-centered, compassionate, and nonjudgmental. You remain in control of the process, and you do not have to share every detail of your experience in order for us to work with what you are carrying. Together, we can explore shame, fear, disconnection, boundaries, body safety, intimacy, and reclaiming a greater sense of choice and personal agency.
You do not have to perform healing.
There is no “right” way to grieve and no timetable for recovering from trauma. My role is not to tell you how you should feel. It is to create a supportive space where you can safely explore what you are carrying and begin discovering what healing, integration, and moving forward mean for you.
Mobile Private RET Sessions
I Come to You
Private Rapid Eye Therapy sessions in the comfort of your own space.
I believe meaningful processing can happen where you feel most comfortable and supported. That’s why I offer mobile Private Rapid Eye Therapy sessions—I come to you.
I currently serve the Southern Utah and Nevada corridor from St. George, Utah to Mesquite, Nevada, including surrounding communities.
No unfamiliar office. No rushing out the door after a deep session. You can process in a familiar environment and have space afterward to rest, integrate, and simply be.
Serving: St. George, Washington, Hurricane, Ivins, Santa Clara, Littlefield/Beaver Dam, and Mesquite areas.
Reach out and we’ll talk about your location, what you’re looking for, and whether an in-home RET session is a good fit.
What to Expect
Focused work. Spacious presence. No performance required.
Rapid Eye Therapy uses guided attention, eye movement, imagery, language, and body awareness to help you notice and shift emotional material in a contained, intentional way.
01 • Arrive
We begin with what is true today.
We identify what feels most important, what you want to change, and what would help you feel safe and supported in the session.
02 • Process
We work with the nervous system.
You are guided through RET techniques while staying connected to choice, pacing, and present-moment awareness.
03 • Integrate
We make room for what comes next.
We close intentionally, notice what has shifted, and talk about gentle ways to support integration after the session.
About Natillie
Natillie Lynn Cottam-Read, MRET
I am a Master Rapid Eye Therapist with many years of experience supporting people through grief, trauma, relationship change, identity shifts, and emotionally intense seasons of life.
My work is rooted in compassion, consent, curiosity, and the belief that healing does not require you to become someone else. It asks for a safe enough place to hear yourself clearly and begin releasing what no longer needs to be carried alone.
“You do not have to force healing. Sometimes the work is creating enough safety for your own wisdom to move.”
I bring a body-centered, nonjudgmental approach to every session. Your pace matters. Your no matters. Your story belongs to you.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is Rapid Eye Therapy?
Rapid Eye Therapy is a guided, experiential process that may include eye movement, imagery, verbal cues, and body awareness. Practitioners use these tools to help clients work with emotionally charged material and patterns in a focused way.
Do I have to tell you every detail of what happened?
No. You are always in charge of what you share. Sessions can focus on sensations, beliefs, emotions, or present-day patterns without requiring a detailed retelling of every experience.
Is this the same as EMDR?
Rapid Eye Therapy is similar to EMDR in that both use eye movement as part of the processing experience. RET uses the body’s natural REM (rapid eye movement) technology to help access release and processing. RET and EMDR are still distinct approaches, with different training pathways, structures, and methods.
What if I am nervous before my first session?
That is welcome too. You do not need to arrive calm, certain, or ready to explain everything. We begin slowly, establish what feels safe, and work from there.
Work With Me
You do not have to know exactly what to say before you reach out.
Tell me a little about what you are looking for, and we can decide together whether Rapid Eye Therapy feels like a good fit.
Sessions: Individual Rapid Eye Therapy Format: Add in-person / virtual details here Contact: Add your preferred email and phone number here
Important: If you are in immediate danger, experiencing a medical emergency, or thinking about harming yourself or someone else, contact emergency services or a qualified crisis provider. This website is not a crisis service.
PRIDE PLAYGROUND COMMUNITY
Polyamory Community
Looking for real people, real connection, friendship, resources, events, and a place where consensual non-monogamy is understood? This is a space to find like-minded people, build community, and belong without having to explain who you are.
💜 Find Your Tribe
Meet polyamorous, ethically non-monogamous, and open-minded people who value authentic connection and community.
🌈 Community & Friendship
This is bigger than dating. Find friends, chosen family, conversation, support, laughter, and people to do life with.
✨ Events & Gatherings
Discover Pride Playground gatherings, classes, social events, and opportunities to connect in person.
Whether you are experienced in polyamory, newly curious, partnered, solo, dating, or simply looking for community—you are welcome to connect. Consent, respect, authenticity, and kindness are at the heart of the playground.
Find Us on Facebook
Connect with the Polyamory Desert Alliance (PDA) community on Facebook for friendship, conversation, resources, community, and upcoming gatherings.
More than a hike—it’s a community. Come explore Southern Utah, meet great people, enjoy fresh air, and build friendships along the trail. All skill levels are welcome.
🥾 Hike Together
Join scenic hiking adventures around Southern Utah with a welcoming community.
💚 Meet People
Come for the trail and stay for the friendship, conversation, laughter, and connection.
🏜️ All Skill Levels
You don’t need to be an expert hiker. Find outings, people, and experiences that fit you.
☀️ Get Outside
Fresh air, beautiful scenery, movement, adventure, and good vibes—with community built in.
EXPLORE • CONNECT • BELONG
STG Social Hikes
More than a hike—it’s a community. Come explore Southern Utah, meet great people, enjoy fresh air, and build friendships along the trail. All skill levels are welcome.
🥾 Hike Together
Join scenic hiking adventures around Southern Utah with a welcoming community.
💚 Meet People
Come for the trail and stay for the friendship, conversation, laughter, and connection.
🏜️ All Skill Levels
You don’t need to be an expert hiker. Find outings, people, and experiences that fit you.
☀️ Get Outside
Fresh air, beautiful scenery, movement, adventure, and good vibes—with community built in.