Aren't those kids beautiful? They are the main job project for Leah O’Gwynn Kackley, MUW Class of 1993, who received a B.A. in Math, with honors, Magna Cum Laude. She is now a stay at home, homeschooling mom to a six year old girl, four year old boy and an eight month old girl.
Following her W years when she was a member of the Lockheart Social Club, Miss Jozia’s ballet “company”, the Modeling Squad, Mortarboard, Hottentots, Interclub, a Student Director of Orientation, Class Cheerleader, a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Lantern, Torch, and participated in Co-Op work at the ERC at MSU, Leah worked at Watkins-O’Gwynn Electrical Engineers, P.A.
While most of the SAHM's we've met this week kind of fell into that line of work by a combination of circumstances, Leah has always seen herself as a full-time parent. However, she says "what I did not see coming was the decision to homeschool. I never, never, never planned on doing that. But, WOW, what an extraordinary journey it has already been! Homeschooling really makes being a full-time parent a completely different sort of “job”. While I’m still responsible for the majority of the care for the children (which takes a lot while they’re so little), I’m also now responsible for their education. At the same moments during the day. It makes for a challenging day, to be sure. I stay confounded a lot - ha!
There is a saying, that is attributed to a number of people, that goes something like this:
'Educate a man and you educate an individual. Educate a woman and you educate a nation'. Sometimes you see 'Educate a woman and you educate a family'. Either way, I have always felt that there is a role or responsibility that a mom fills that is unique; it truly can not be duplicated. Women are designed with special strengths and talents. Moms, specifically, are responsible for so much with regard to the health and productivity of a family. I felt a responsibility to take my experiences and convictions and use them to benefit my family. For me, it meant letting the family become my primary focus. That’s where my particular talents seemed to focus. I have great respect for moms who work outside the home, because their lives require an intricate balancing act, for sure! But, for me, I knew that I needed to be a full-time parent in order to fulfill the responsibility of creating good citizens and good Christians through the parenting our children."
Her husband Jason is a partner with the CGM Group, a mechanical engineering firm in Ridgeland, MS, and Leah says he is a wonderful dad.
At this point in her life, Leah states that the greatest benefit of being a SAHM was being able to come to the decision to homeschool without having to quit a job in order to do it. But all the other “typical” benefits are still applicable also!
When asked what the greatest challenge was in being a SAHM, Leah replied "Well, I’m going to tell you the truth. And I’m not all that proud of this truth. But for me, the greatest challenge is dealing with the self-sacrifice or self-denial that comes with this life/lifestyle. Mom’s emotional needs usually have to take a backseat. It’s necessary in order to keep all the balls in the air. In addition, full-time parenting is work for which one doesn’t get a whole lot of recognition. It’s work for which you rarely actually get accolades. Shoot, you rarely even get a thumbs-up. So it’s a lot of emotional and physical effort, without the benefit of regular encouragement. By that, I mean the type of encouragement that one might get from another person who has a vested interest in your work, like an employer might give you at a regular job. Children give you such wonderful love and trust, but they aren’t going to say “You Can Do It Mommy”! Sometimes, self-motivation is the hardest thing to grab and hold on to. And a full-time parent needs oodles of it!"
Besides taking care of her children, Leah has been an Independent Consultant with Mary Kay since 1996. "I have a wonderful customer base and some wonderful team members!" she exclaimed. " I work this job a very little bit now, enjoying it mostly as a part-time job. But even with giving it that little bit of time, it still brings in a bit of extra cash that is so helpful. My years of experience make it easier for me to take care of current and new customers without upsetting the flow of the family. And I truly enjoy having a “thing” that keeps me involved in the girly fun of life!" If you'd like to order from Leah, here is her website.
Leah truly sees saying home as a long-term decision. "Well, now that we have entered the world of home education, I will be at home for the duration of the time that we continue to homeschool! We take the decision to home educate year by year, but for now, it works so well for our children and our lifestyle. So I’m here to stay for awhile." Regarding her plans down the road, she replied "It just depends on how long we homeschool. If I see my youngest through her high school years, it’s at least another 18 years before I could make any changes! At that point, who knows what the Lord will have prepared for me. But, wow, I’m a little bit excited to find out! Ballet, golf, and travel come to mind."
While her family is her priority, Leah is an active member of Grace Primitive Baptist Church. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Rankin County Junior Miss Association, and is the Production Chairperson for the program as well. The family is active in their homeschool support group, CHEC (Christian Home Educators Connection), which takes up a good bit of time. Other than home life, church life, and a very small handful of other activities, Leah says "I have to 'just say no' to a lot of other worthwhile endeavors, which is not the way I was pre-children. But, in order to preserve sanity in our life as a family, it’s what works best! Especially while the children are little."
When asked how her MUW education helped her in your chosen life, Leah explained "I think that, for me, the uniqueness of my education paved part of the pathway that I’m traveling right now. I wasn’t encouraged to only focus on my major subject classes. I needed to know how to write. How to think. How to make decisions. How to relate to groups. How to present ideas. How to speak publicly. How to solve problems. My very basic classes my freshman year were taught by professors holding Ph.D. degrees. And my classes were small. These Ph.D.-holding professors knew me, knew my name, and by george, they expected a lot from me and everyone else in my class. And this was my freshman year! One doesn’t leave a college experience like that one without having learned more completely than my counterparts could have at the larger colleges. This type of “thorough learning” is crucial to me as a home educator. I don’t have to know everything about everything to be my children’s teacher. But I DO have to know how to find and then process the information I do need. That’s what my MUW education has helped me to know how to do."
If being a stay at home parent is what you truly want to do, Leah would be the first to encourage today's MUW students to do just that. "There is a value to a full-time parent that is intangible, but is also vital to the stability of our busy-busy-busy world. And specifically to the young women thinking about it: Since women don’t have to be full-time moms to accommodate societal norms anymore, there aren’t nearly as many of us who feel compelled to take this journey. So, be sure you want to do it for the right reasons, because you aren’t going to be surrounded by people doing what you do. Know that this choice is a self-sacrificing one. But, you are building a family AND a nation when you do this. I’d also like to encourage you, whether you are a young lady or a young man, to follow a career path until the time comes to say good-bye to the regular 9 to 5. I didn’t have my first child until I was 32 years old. If I had merely worked odd jobs to just pass the time from the time I graduated at 21 until I got married and had children, I would have missed out on necessary experiences to round out the world view I would pass on to my children. Don’t assume you know what life holds for you. Educate yourself to achieve great things that suit your personality. And then, follow the path that leads to those great things! Then, when children come, you will step away from the traditional working world with confidence!" she advises.
Thanks Leah, and give those kids a hug for us!
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