Meet Jill Eden Wheatley: Family Woman, Attorney & Entrepreneur

“What do you do if your dreams don’t come true, if you never get what you want so badly?” It would take a much more in depth interview to cover the journey but skipping to the answer…. “What is what you want worth?” I tweaked my dreams from specifics to what I had to be and feel at the end of my life.

I wanted happiness and yearned for purpose. So, after breaking down to my core I pursued these with vengeance. The greatest risk I ever took was the acceptance I would have to find happiness and purpose even if I did not marry or have children. It was agonizing. For some reason that pursuit brought me face to face with my husband. We married fast as we could and subsequently had twins. We faced terrible pregnancy risks and have one neurotypical daughter and one extraordinarily medical complex daughter both are almost 4!!

Every day we face painful risks for ourselves and each of our girls. Our hearts and souls cling to the edge of a cliff all the time. We risk having our hearts broken for the ecstasy of great love for one another and together for our inspiring miracle daughters.

Bill Gates couldn’t pay me to get on a roller coaster, they scare the daylights out of me and are not worth it. True risk for me is life led by my soul with my body just trying to keep pace. That scares the living daylights out of me too but hourly and daily rewards make that the worthiest risk I can imagine. Regardless of my passion, logistically, my family needs two incomes but, I cannot be beholden. I will not put any job or boss in front of the needs of my children and husband. I tried it…it is impossible.

This opened the door to Mothership917, my vintage and mobile gift Shoppe accompanied by a developing companion blog. So, let me introduce myself, an attorney who lives for her family, passionate about vintage fashion and weird collectibles, who despises waste, needs financial independence as much as she needs and craves emotional entanglement. Fear of failure is the ultimate shackle … pursuing deep purpose with everything I have and “tweaking” dreams to meet that is the greatest risk I can ever take second only to the greatest risk I will NEVER take …living in fear.

In the same way that ideological, faith or rescue driven organizations support their bottom line with a thrift store, I contribute to our family needs by building a business that allows me to put our life first and express my passions and values for a living. My Shoppe is still in its infancy and growing.

Building a self supporting business is definitely not easy but it is easy knowing I can shift priorities at a moment’s notice without consequence and still build success. My husband, family and friends support me so strongly that any challenges are more than manageable.

One great lesson I learned along the way is the value of timing and ability to adjust for change. Dropping a signature lipgloss color shortly ahead of a global pandemic is not a win. But…I love having a signature made for me color that is timeless for my video blog and getting fancy for This Is Us with my hubby! When the masks come off the gloss is going to pop!

Customers often point out that my collection is so varied and voluminous that I literally have something for every passer by. That is by design hoping that over time customers will seek Mothership917 whenever they have an urge to shop for themselves or others. Ultimately customers get something rare and special while ensuring security and stability for my family.