Introduction

So I don't really know how this blog will end up. My goal is to give people a slice of my life. I might be biased but believe it would make for some pretty interesting reading. So let's get started...

Hi, My name is Seth Megow. I currently work as the Instructional Technology Specialist for the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Valdosta State University.I absolutely love my job and the people I work with. (Shout out to all my CONHS peeps!) When I got hired in 2013, I was told my job was "Make Faculty Happy". Since this was a new position and there had never been any like it at the university before, I got the pleasure of sort of molding my job description and requirements. Pretty much though, my job entails: online class building and support, graphic design, tech support, database management, tech research and purchasing, video production, etc.

However, I know everyone isn't reading this to find out what I do at work :) Let's explore the other (and most important) part of my life. I have the four best kiddos anyone could ask for: Stevie Joy (age 7), Neela Grace (age 6), Titus Robert (age 5), and Olive Hope (age 3). They are the light of my life and my primary source of my daily laughter. I'll take a little bit to introduce you to each of my kids.

Stevie- My oldest :) She is wise beyond her years. When she was born, my dad called her "serene". That word still fits to this day. I don't know what I would do without her. Stevie is so kind and gentle with her younger siblings. She takes charge when she needs to (or wants to, hahah) and is sweet and patient when she senses the younger kids need some attention. She loves to read, sing silly songs, tell jokes, and can figure any kind of electronic device out almost quicker than her daddy. Although, she is becoming more and more dependent everyday, she is becoming a daddy's girl as well. Every night, she won't go to sleep without me singing "Good Night God" by Mr. Rogers to her while I play with her hair. Stevie, like the rest of my kids, love their one on one time with dad. Stevie typically spends our time together playing Zelda. She is so fascinated with the puzzles in that game. Also, I am seeing an extremely talented little artist brewing up in her. She can sit for hours alone with her little art set just drawing away. I love to watch her face switch from a serious tone (when she is thinking about what to draw) to a huge grin (when he is drawing something like "Fart Dog the superdog".

Neela, a.k.a. "Nature Neela" - I have never met a kid as curious about "aminals" or anything having to do with nature as my Neela Grace. She is a self-appointed vegetarian. She did flip back to being an "omnivore" to be like her bearded dragon, Alabama, for about two days but quickly changed back. This girl is always outside studying something in the dirt. Everyday, she talks about being a zoologist in Africa when she grows up. She is also like my in the fact that she is a night owl. Typically, when all of the other kids are asleep Neela and I have our alone time. This consists of walking around our yard looking for frogs, toads, crawdaddies, bugs, spiders, and pretty much every little critter you can think of. We are well known as the frog hunters around these parts and don't feel like stopping anytime soon. She is also one of the most giving people you will ever meet. She will give away the shirt on her back to a stranger. Literally, she has done it. Everytime she has a friend over, she always makes her to give them a toy. She likes to give away her nicest things because "thats what Jesus would do". This girl might have her heads in the clouds in the classroom, but when it comes to Bible time at home, she knows her stuff. I am so proud of the woman of God and "aminal" lover she is becoming :)

Titus- My little buddy. - As far as guys goes we are outnumbered in our house 3-2. We stick together. This kid is all boy. He is constantly practicing his power ranger moves on his sisters and making messes everywhere he goes :) I love how full of energy and spunk he is. He is constantly on the go. However, my favorite part about his little personality is how much he adopts our family motto of "Make someone smile today". He absolutely loves to give compliments. Words of Encouragement is definitely his love language. Every time we see people, he is always the first to tell them something he likes about their outfit, how pretty their eyes are, how nice their shoes look, how much he loves their hair, etc. He walks into situations and meeting people looking for ways to make people feel good about themselves. At least once or twice a week, he surprises me with "Titus mail". He writes or colors little cards and puts them in the mailbox. He loves sitting with me and watching me open them. He gets so excited watching the smile form on my face. He just focuses on my face, and his little smile mirrors mine and they form together. It's one of my favorite little things in the entire world.

Olive - "The Princess" - Olive is definitely my girliest little girl and I absolutely love that about her. She is recently potty trained. (Can I get an Amen??!!) With that transition of becoming a "big girl" she has decided she needs to start picking out her own clothes. Pretty much, if it's not "pwetty" that girl won't wear it. hahaha. She is so meek and gentle at times, but so talkative and full of energy at others. She is definitely such a little character. She has the sweetest disposition about her. Every morning, she picks a flower for her teacher at school and loves to give people hugs. Her love language is definitely physical touch. Side note, this girl refuses to sleep without getting a full back massage from her daddy EVERY. NIGHT. :D Also, I believe she is extremely empathetic. There were times in the past two years, I would be awake in the middle of night crying and extremely upset. I always did it behind closed doors and the kids were asleep, but several times I would see the door open and Olive would crawl in my bed, give me a giant kiss, and curl up beside me.

Well, that's a basic and quick overview of my kids. I'm sure you will hear alot more of them as I (hopefully) continue with the blog.

I get asked alot about two things: 1) My Schedule and 2) Staying Postive. I would like to address both in the rest of this post.

If you haven't figured out by now. I'm a single parent with full custody. I'm not going to go into my divorce and please don't ask. If I do mention my ex-wife, it will only be how wonderful she was a wife and how much of an amazing mother she was and still is. She's currently sorting out her own stuff and I'm confident that one day, the kids will have their mom more involved in their lives. (as Forrest Gump said "And that's all I have to say about that..." ;) Anyways, back to my schedule

6am: Wake up, shower, get the kids stuff ready, pray and have my quiet time
6:30am: Wake up the kids, get them dressed, fed, and *somewhat awake.
7am: Start our morning routine of singing "Great day", brush teeth, and always attempting to find that last sock.
7:20-8am: Morning dropoff and car chats about things like how Neela's superpower is that she can talk to birds... but only parrots and not if they speak spanish.
8amish-2:30pm- Seth works
2:30-3pm- Pick up Kids
3pm-5:30pm- I work from home (my job is awesome for letting me do this) while the kids have free time, do homework, etc. We can't do many structured things because I'm usually on the phone or sitting at my computer.
5:30-6:30pm- Cook Dinner, Eat, and Bible Time usually while we eat
6:30-7:15-Baths and Brush Teeth
7:15-9pm- One of one time with each kid.
9pm-9:30pm-Getting the kids to bed
9:30-11pm- finishing up work from the day, paying bills, doing other computer related stuff  (graphic design for church and other ministries, stuff for friends, etc.)
11pm-1 or 2amish? - Sweep, mop, dishes, laundry, vaccuum, etc. Pretty much just all of the things around the house I need to do. PS Please don't judge me by the height of my grass. hahaha. It will be cut soon :)
And then get up and repeat.

Our weekends are usually pretty full too. If I'm home, I'm always trying to focus on fun activities for the kids (treasure hunts, games, etc.) Honestly, being a parent can be a lot more inexpensive if you are just a little creative and willing to put in the time. But I'll save some of those things for another blog post.  Or I take them to birthday parties, the park, or just things to get them out of the house. Sundays we have church and typically start planning out the next week that afternoon. At first, this weekly schedule was pretty hectic, but we've got a routine down and the kids are thriving.

Now onto the topic I really want to talk about... "Staying Positive". I can't tell you the number of phone calls, facebook messages, texts, conversations, I get about people wanting to know how I could possibly be this positive with my life. Well... Get ready for the Megow Life Philosophy...

My life pretty much starting falling apart two years ago. I mean, it was bad. My family was being ripped apart and I tried everything I could do to get over the hump. I fell into a deep depression; however, one day, God kind of triggered something in my head. "I'm blessed and I need to be a blessing." It sounds so simple, but it radically transformed my life. So that's how I find my joy. Being a blessing to others. Everyday at dinner, we go around the table and say how we made someone smile today. That's how I started building a culture of service and servanthood in my house. Now don't assume, I'm always smiling or always happy. Shoot, I got 4 kids solo. Checking out at the grocery store can get crunk!

Once I really grasped that idea, joy started to bubble up inside of me. It's an extremely positive and fun cycle. Serve others, find joy. People are attracted to your joy, then you find new people to serve. It's amazing how a smile or quick word of encouragement or giving someone a cold water on a hot day, can brighten someone's day. However, I've also been caught up in the idea of doing for doing sake. Simply going through the motions of being nice or helping someone to cheer yourself up really won't take you anywhere. We have to really become empathetic as a people. Don't do just to do. Do because you want to show Real Love. I promise everyone you meet has something difficult in their life; they also have something remarkable special about them too. Darkness and depression has to run from Light and joy. So I just try to find a way to make each person feel special in every interaction, no matter how short or insignificant it may be.

All that is not trying to sound preachy or braggy. Mostly, people tell me at least once a week how sad or depressed they are. I just like to remind people that true happiness comes from Above :) Taking that love to others produces Joy. Just try it. :)

Also, on the flip side. I have learned to accept help. It's hard to accept it as a single parent and being a man especially. Just remember accepting someone's gift or help can bless someone just as much as giving to someone else. I have the best family and friends in the world!


That's pretty much enough for an introduction post. Please excuse typos or excessive commas or :)'s. I have a habit of using them both in excess. Also, most of these posts are going to written pretty late at night, so please no grammar police.

Thanks everyone. I'll start on some fun (and funnier topics) on my regular posts. Just wanted to give a brief introduction and answer a few questions I have been receiving. Feel free to follow my facebook or instagram :D

Seth