Jill Dodson---BB winner and awesome mom!!!

BOLDERBand’s “We Value All Mothers” write-in contest winner is Jill Dodson. BOLDERBand picked four blog submissions to tell their stories of mothering, and win a BOLDERBand of their choice.

Jill Dodson, 41, lives on about 100 acres outside of Oklahoma City with her two daughters Jemma, 3 and Joss, 5 and a German exchange student, Kira, 16. She is a stay-at-home mom who knows what it is like to be a work-out-of-the-home mom and a stay-at-home mom… and the value and challenges of both.

“My kids get more of me now (at home). I was a good mom when I was a working mom, too. Either way it is a good thing,” she said. “That stereotype Amy Glass alluded to (in her blog) is based on someone that has no knowledge of both sides. I don’t look down on women who work with children or the stay-at- home mom… I have done both. Both are hard.”

And she knows about challenges: from two tours of duty in Iraq to fighting Thyroid cancer to training for a marathon, nothing is as hard as being a mom.

 “I drove into Iraq when it all started -- not knowing when I’d encounter the enemy,” Jill said of her 20 years of service in the Army. “I took bathroom breaks while I was driving: in my combat gear, uniform and a chemical suit in a moving vehicle that I was DRIVING,” she said. “I’ve sat on guard duty, waiting for the enemy.... and I’ve been fired upon.”

While in the military, not only did Jill finish her bachelor’s of science in business management from the University of Maryland, she also moved up the ranks from private to captain. 

“I’ve traveled the world on my own. I have worked on my degree while serving my country. (And) fought thyroid cancer!” Jill said. “The list goes on and on. And I still struggle with being a (stay-at-home mom) more than anything listed or not! This is the hardest job I’ve ever encountered!”

Jill isn’t done yet. She is now working on her teaching certification and working as a substitute teacher. She also finished her fourth half-marathon with 2:19 Sunday and is training for her first marathon at the end of April. 

“I want my kids to grow up to know that exercise is important,” she said, but when she was in the Army, she also taught her kids as well.  “My oldest remembers me in the service. She is very patriotic and gets very excited when she sees a soldier or a flag.”

BOLDERBandsalutes Jill for being a hard-working mom who is an example to her kids…and to us. 

~Amy