A Single Act of Kindness

Thursday!

Today's featured guest is

Maggie Singleton

My mom tells me that when I was a little girl I wanted nothing more than to be a vegetarian and care for animals in need.  I practiced my skills extensively on my cats – caring for them… feeding them… clothing them. However, I abandoned my dreams and aspirations of becoming a veterinarian soon after encountering high school chemistry and all things math.  Thus began my quest to discover what I really wanted to do and who I really wanted to be when I grew up.

After earning a Bachelor’s degree in English Education, I dabbled for two painful years as an eighth grade English teacher.  I soon realized that my personality (serious, idiosyncratic, and analytical) just did not mix well with raging hormones! Thankfully not all was lost in my adventures.  In addition to gaining a laundry list of names I would never use for my offspring, I met a young man from a nearby university who asked for my hand in marriage a year later.  God certainly has a knack for turning ugly situations into good.

Eventually I found my niche as a technical editor working for a military contracting firm that has kept me employed for the past ten years.  They were kind enough to keep me on part time when I started a family.  I didn’t realize that this single act of kindness would produce such an exhilarating, yet not-so-steamy love affair between mothering, part time work, and housekeeping (which always feels like the third wheel). Later I began accepting freelance editing, formatting, and writing opportunities which I have thoroughly enjoyed for the past four years.

I have recently discovered something else I want to do when I grow up: be a writer. The desire (obsession?) to write my own work has been such a natural and obvious progression for me.   And being a work-at-home mom (WAHM) of three provides me with MORE than enough subject matter!  Through my blogs, you will get a glimpse into my journey called mommyhood… especially of the WAHM variety.  I am so excited to see where that road might lead.

Although I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job of explaining what I do, that’s only half the story.  I will end with a few things I want to be when I grow up – which I remind myself daily is of far greater importance than what I do.  First and foremost, I want to get reacquainted with the calm person I was before little people entered my life.  I feel like I have a long way to go, but I’m taking baby steps toward it every day.  And I want to be on time for things, too.  If the words “hurry up” could be eliminated from my everyday vernacular, we all would be a happier family.  I also want to be unselfish when I grow up and, for instance, share the entire bag of potato chips with my kids instead of scarfing them behind the pantry door. Well, maybe. And lastly, I want to live in such a way that God shines through the strengths (and weaknesses) that He has given me.

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