A little late...

I want to be an editor. I am unsure how much to invest in this desire; I know my ultimate desire is to be a homemaker and maybe a homeschooler if I have more children, but in the unlikely but possible event that my husband cannot provide for us due to illness, or God forbid, I end up alone, I need a "skill set." I finished college, but I didn’t learn much and I don’t really have a skill set. Also, I really enjoy editing. I love words and language, and I love making documents just right, as good as they can be. I love reading what others have written and helping to showcase the best in their work. I seem to have a talent for it, but I don’t have a lot of professional knowledge.

While my grammar and usage are very good, they could be much, much better. I should have taken more notice when I received the award for excellence in the written English language at my eighth grade graduation. I was an English major only for a semester; I switched to Liberal Studies because I thought I should be a grade school teacher, and because the English major coursework focused so much on literature. Literature is great, but it’s not my favorite thing to study. I love the language itself, plus I prefer to read non-fiction. I reasoned that since I was a good student, I would be a good teacher. So, I was half-heartedly on my way to a teaching credential with the track I chose at my second institution.

I was in a very bad mental and emotional state when I transferred schools; my focus was on survival, not big-picture career planning. I just followed the path I’d started at the junior college. I’d had some classroom experience before I transferred, from working in an after-school program for three years, and that experience even qualified as my internship to fulfill my degree requirements. I cared about kids, but my heart wasn’t in teaching. I was uncomfortable with my judgment and comportment in discipline, and wasn’t the best classroom manager. I am sure I could have done it, but I just didn't want to.

It didn’t help that I had another spiritual/emotional breakdown in the middle of my last year of school, and quit altogether. A few years later I returned to school with even less drive and focus, but I eventually completed my degree coursework. I owe the school money because I didn’t qualify for financial aid in the last semester, so my transcripts and diploma are held hostage. But I finished. I am paying gobs of money for a degree that didn’t teach me much. To be fair, I didn’t apply myself much, either. My excellent organizational, language and study skills got me through it with decent grades, but I didn’t absorb a whole lot of useful knowledge. I wasn’t trying to. I was still just trying to survive.

So now, with some real-world work experience, a husband, and more self-understanding, I want to start a new course. I don’t want to work with kids anymore, though that’s what I’ve been doing, teaching kids who have developmental disabilities for the last six years. That’s great and such, but I’m burnt out mentally and have been injured physically. So, editing. I believe I can do it. I’ve already tried it informally. I want to learn how to do it. I’m just a little late, is all. 

Expanding my knowledge of editing only adds to my "career goal" of homemaking. I think it's wise for ladies at home to have skills that can transfer outside the home circle if need be. Many lovely blogging homemakers have this covered, and they do it with grace and finesse. 

Accomplished and proactive homemaking is another "skill set" which I'm a little late in developing. I am the daughter of an accidental housewife- my mom was a medical assistant who "retired" at 43, because her diabetes was finally catching up with her. She is a wonderful mother, but a C-average housekeeper. 

Mom was the family taxi, she was fully and lovingly present to us, she got the basics done, and that was all. She didn't have any hobbies that I remember, and hardly any interests. She was a microwave cook at worst, and a semi-homemade/canned food cook at best. From her I learned generosity, kindness, the importance of prayer, and the meaning of unconditional love. From her I did not learn how to cook, clean, decorate, or organize.

My goal is to be a well-rounded homemaker, editing abilities included, and because God always gives second chances, it's never really too late, not while we live and breathe. With Him on my side, it should be a joyful challenge and I'm looking forward to it.