Looking back, looking forward: Jill Simonian marks her time as a Fresno Bee columnist
The only thing certain in life is change. As much as I’ve always pushed against change, I continue to force myself to be grateful for it. I’m crying but I’m smiling. (Because that’s what moms do?)
This will be my final column for what’s been a most unexpected, comforting and fulfilling four years at The Bee.
A spontaneous love-letter to my hometown on my blog in 2015 — after a cousin’s wedding in Fresno — was picked up and published in The Bee that November. Summer 2016 brought a most welcome and unexpected offer from then-associate opinion editor Gail Marshall to contribute a monthly column offering light commentary and lifestyle tips for new moms like myself. Frequent trips to visit immediate family in the Central Valley soon became fodder and inspiration for my new columns appearing in the Insight section every first Saturday of the month. I remember how giddy I felt to be an official “Bee writer” (freelance) alongside talented folks I’d admired and respected, and who’d played a special part in my career at the very beginning of my TV/media ventures — like The Bee’s then entertainment reporter Rick Bentley.
Some of my very first FAB Mom columns shared lessons via family vacations to Santa Cruz and Bass Lake, and also tackled hard-hitting issues like “The Free Gift Moms Truly Need On Valentine’s Day.” My mom would clip and save every article and give me her one-of-a-kind fun and funny reaction each time one of my pieces was published. Writing for The Bee was a career dream I didn’t know I had until it fell into my lap.
As I grew into motherhood and life, so did my writing. My 2017 at The Bee started with “Life Changing Tips for a Fabulous Year” yet ended with deeply personal reveals about loss, faith, hope and resilience through grief after my mom’s passing — topics I never previously imagined sharing in my hometown newspaper. Having a monthly deadline to produce content that would resonate with Valley values offered me comfort and confidence, and helped me evolve through pain.
This past year at The Bee — and, most especially 2020 — has challenged me to critically think and communicate as a writer, a woman and a mom concerned about raising kids in California and the current tumultuous world we live in.
Whether you’re a cheerleader for my point of view, or would rather see my perspective disappear forever, I thank you and respect you. Readers who sent me emails or gave face-to-face feedback over the years — positive or otherwise — made me smile, made me think, made my days better and humbled me to feel even more appreciative for what has been a once-in-a-lifetime hometown platform for any writer. I owe you more than you know. My deepest gratitude to my husband, sister and dad — for letting me publicly share details (and pictures!) of our family and some of our most special times together. For my editor Tad Weber: Thank you for giving me freedom to express what’s been on my heart every month, without limitation or edits, through personal growth and change — a rare, humbling gift that I have never taken or will take for granted.
So, as this strange year changes into another, I wish all of us peace, hope, courage, gratitude and confidence for raising kids, for thinking clearly and for never forgetting where any of us come from. For me, that’s a special place called Fresno.