Kelli Wheeler: Award-winning family columnist, author, freelance writer, writing instructor, editor, publisher
Yeah, so that’s on my business card. However, here’s what I want you to read in between the lines of my biography below: My proudest accomplishments are the people who call me “Mom”. I’ve worn many “hats” in my 52 years, and back when I was predicting Where Will You Be in 10 Years? for my high school newspaper (on the New York Times Best Seller list and rich), I would have never guessed being a good mother, wife, daughter, sister, auntie, cousin, niece, friend, neighbor, volunteer…is where life’s riches come from.
I also never would have thought that the most fulfilling thing I would do with my career would be to help others tell their stories and then hold that book in their hands. The writing community I have created, (with the average age of students being 76—but including many 88-94 year-olds), has been one of the greatest joys of my life.
Though I still have many things I’d like to accomplish, I’ve learned to stop counting the success of my life by goals I’ve achieved. It is truly the journey, not the destination that matters. It’s the people you meet along the way and those you reach a supportive hand out to. So enjoy the journey. And this bio below:
Kelli Wheeler is an award-winning family columnist whose humorous and poignant takes on parenting were published for 16 years as Momservations® both in print and online. She is the author of the Momservations® greatest hits book, DON’T FORGET YOUR LUNCH: Diapers to Diploma Parenting Wisdom and the humorous gift book MOMSERVATIONS®: THE FINE PRINT OF PARENTING. She is also an accomplished freelance writer whose clients include former California First Lady Maria Shriver, Sacramento Parent, Bay Area Parent, Gannett News, and CBS Local. A favorite book she is published in is THE WAY OF GRATITUDE: Readings for a Joyful Life along with writings from Mary Oliver, J.K. Rowling, Jack Kornfield and Anne Lamott. Before becoming a full-time writer, Kelli worked in public relations and promotions and was a 5th grade teacher in the Elk Grove Unified School District.
Currently teaching a memoir writing class that has already produced nine published authors, she also offers editing services for writers and students. She recently expanded her Hawthorne Street Press imprint to publish the memoirs of her students. Those titles include, A Shy Farm Girl Travels the World, And Gets a Real Education, by Joan Dornan and Opening Curtains, Letting in the Light to Find my Path to Love, Music and Fulfillment, by Margo Scandella.
Kelli lives in Sacramento, California with her husband, Trey, who still loves her despite her inability to be brief, and her fuzzy baby, Darby. Her son, Logan, 23, lives and works in Boise, Idaho and her daughter, Whitney, 22, lives and works in Hawaii. With her two children now both adulting and off the payroll, she is finally writing the “great American novel” she thought she would complete when her kids were napping.
Fun facts about me:
- I love a good inspirational quote. I have them inscribed all over my house. A favorite: Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~Elizabeth Stone
- My first job after graduating college was working for a professional football team. My last salaried position was as a 5th grade teacher.
- I think sweeping the floor with fuzzy socks falls in the Practical rather than Disgusting category.
- Without a doubt the family dog thinks I am the only reason worth living for. It feels fabulous.
- Me, my mom, and my daughter are carbon copies of each other. The male genes in the family got their butts kicked.
- I took up sprint distance triathlons when I was 33.
- My superpower is I can tell you down to the minute when we will reach our long-distance destination without looking at GPS.
- I met my husband, Trey, when I was 19 and we’ve been married for nearly 27 years. We think it’s pretty cool that we still really like each other.
- I’m still best friends with the best friend I made in third grade.