I'm going to be featured in Cosmopolitan magazine. WHAT?!

I never imagined that I’d be featured in a sexy, glossy magazine. I’ve never starred in a movie, dated a celebrity, or changed the world by founding an exciting nonprofit. I used to be a librarian, and now I’m a too-busy-to-be-bored housewife. What’s so exciting about that?
Plenty, apparently. Because Cosmo wants to run an article about it.

Obsessed with Waterloge, that is.
A few days after I told my friends I was no longer at the library, a friend sent me this message: "Hey, Jen. My friend Rachel Bertsche is writing a piece, and she wants to talk to a woman with no kids who chooses not to work outside the home. Since I know you just made this choice, I'm wondering if you'd mind if I put the two of you in touch. She's a legit journalist. Any chance I could connect the two of you?" I'd just spent weeks carefully weighing the options and articulating the reasons why staying at home makes sense for me right now, so I felt uniquely prepared to be a part of Rachel's article. I said yes.

Rachel was preparing to submit an article proposal to her editor. The article was meant to profile a number of women, all of whom had made different career choices. We did a 10 minute phone interview, and Rachel told me she would be in touch if her editor wanted to move forward on the article.

A few weeks later, Rachel called me with good news and bad news. The bad news was that the editor said no to the article that had originally been proposed. The good news? She wanted Rachel to write a personal profile article about me. OMG WHAT?! The editor said I was, "Very likable and matter of fact, and they loved that." Was I willing to be featured in the May 2014 issue of Cosmo? I cycled through different emotions: Disbelief, pride, nervousness, and jubilant excitement. And then I said yes.

The article will be written in first person, but Rachel is writing it. Soon after, Rachel and I did a longer interview. I don't want to tell you everything we talked about, because I want you to read the actual article. But I will tell you that I'm very excited to be featured. I hope the article will help reframe this choice as less of a passé 1950s thing and more of a valid option. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who is less interested in having it all, and more interested in having a simpler, less stressful life.

But I'm also nervous. Choosing not to work outside the home is a contentious topic. It carries a lot of baggage associated with things with which I do NOT identify: Conservative religions, anti-feminism, and the scary displays of drama and collagen injections you see on "Real Housewives" shows. And a lot of couples can't afford for one person to stay at home full time. I don't want to give off the out-of-touch impression that I believe everyone has this option. I'm lucky, and I don't take my fortunate situation for granted.

Ultimately, I hope Rachel's article sparks some lively conversations about the myth of having it all, what constitutes work, the ways we feel entitled to judge other women, and the uncomfortable fact that some couples might save more money by having one hardworking but low-earning person stay home.

Look for it on newsstands in mid-April!