Once upon a time, I might have described myself as a daughter, sister, mother, or widow. I might have said that I am a middle-aged woman who loves to read and hike. Maybe I would have mentioned my career, my successes, my work ethic, or the fact that I was a workaholic. However, I would have described myself it would have been true at that moment in time. Over the last few months, I have come to understand that each of those things doesn’t actually describe who I really am. They only describe what I am.

That’s why this section isn’t titled, “Who Am I” or “Things About Myself.” The true essence of me is My Self. Instead, I describe myself through the theme of my life. Through reading, friends and meditation I found that who I am is “A Light in the Chaos.” Throughout my life, whether work, church, relationships or everyday activities, I organize, mentor, lead and truly straighten out the chaos for my colleagues and my relationships. I have a habit of bringing love and sunshine to others’ lives through gifts, notes and kindness. Life is nothing if not unordered chaos.

For something less existential, I share the following facts about myself because each of them have shaped who I have become and will become. I am a 49 year old woman. I was widowed in 2017. I was married to my high school boyfriend, Dave, for 25 years. I have two adult daughters, Meghan and Shelby. I was raised in an Air Force family and I have one brother and one sister. I have lived in many places: California, Maryland, Germany, Montana, Colorado, South Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma and Virginia. I have lived in Virginia for the greatest amount of time, 26 years, so I consider myself from Virginia.

I graduated in 1990 from Tabb High School in Yorktown, Virginia. After high school, I attended Mary Washington College for two years. Then, I got married to an Air Force man and moved to Florida where I attended Florida Tech for 1 year. We were transferred to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where I finished college. I graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science from Northern Michigan University. I have a Master’s in Business Administration. I worked for 26 years as a government contractor for various agencies: National Weather Service, NASA and the Air Force. I worked as a Logistics Engineer, a Program Analyst, a Systems Analyst and a Business Analyst. My greatest strength is my ability to see the big picture, organize it and create processes and documents that make things more efficient and effective.

When I started this new journey, I decided I needed a less stressful, more flexible job with more loving and caring people. I now work as a “Jack of all Trades” for a boutique marketing company doing whatever needs to be done. I do some proofreading, some copywriting and much more. My dream job would be reading books for a living but this comes really close to perfection. I have the privilege of working with kind, caring, Christian individuals doing amazing things for amazing clients.

Now you know a little about myself and My Self.