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Jen (Dual-career mom of Jacob 6, Caleb 3, and Abigail 9 weeks): Wow, Kelli, you sure look different today.
Kelli (Stay-at-home mom of Logan 9, and Whitney 8): You mean my new haircut and color?
Jen: No, something else. You've got a glow about you.
Kelli: Well, I'm definitely not expecting.
Jen: I've got it! You must be basking in the glow of being a NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AWARD WINNING COLUMNIST!
Kelli: You're right - I am! And, I must say, the glow certainly suits you too fellow NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AWARD WINNING COLUMNIST!
Jen: I wish I could go with you to accept our award in
Kelli: You don’t think Abigail’s quite ready for the National Society of Newspaper Columnists annual four day conference?
Jen: That and I don’t think my husband, Justin, is ready for me to take an extended trip. Not unless he starts lactating.
Kelli: Well, I’m prepared for the both of us to find out if we’ve won first, second, or third prize in the “Online Column” category. I’m ready to do my best Sally Field acceptance speech – “You love me! You really love me!”
Jen: Speaking of love, this column has really been a labor of love. It’s always been a dream of mine to become an accomplished writer. It’s been a challenge this past year to pursue my dream while juggling my full-time job, motherhood, a new pregnancy and quality time with my husband.
Kelli: I think this award shows you’ve done exceedingly well.
Jen: I’d hold that thought until you talk to my work, husband and kids.
Kelli: I understand your point though. As a seasoned writer, the demands of a weekly column caught me by surprise and really forced me to bring my “A” game and become more organized. I was surprised how much that carried through to the rest of my family responsibilities.
Jen: I also think it’s worth recognizing the importance of carving out some time for your hobbies and your personal goals. Writing has always been a passion for me, but until you and I got together to write this column I wasn't disciplined enough to write on a regular basis. It was always some day, but you challenged me to do this and some day became today.
So, I feel this award is really a validation of the things we've advocated for in this column and the willingness to do something outside of our mother roles to not lose sight of ourselves.
Kelli: Wow. Now I’m worried we’ve got the wrong person going down to accept this award. I guess thanking my dog for keeping my feet warm at the computer seems a little trivial now.
Jen: No, keep it in. I was going to have you thank the barista at Bela Bru for keeping me supplied with my daily iced tea and knowing just how I like it.
Kelli: And of course, where would we be without SacMomsClub and The Sacramento Bee for providing us a forum and supporting our efforts to reach out to area moms looking for commiseration and validation.
Jen: Speaking of which – our readers! Our faithful readers! We are nothing without you. Over 11,000 page views and counting - plus the wonderful feedback and ideas for columns have really made us feel all our efforts have been absolutely worth it.
Kelli: You know, I think my mom, dad, mother and sister-in-laws might make up a good thousand of those page views…
Jen: I’m thinking my mom and sister got a couple thousand in there too…
Kelli: Put ‘em in the thank you speech?
Jen: Yeah, we better.
Kelli Wheeler is a
Jen Hall is a
