I have reached a time in my life when I have less time in the future and more in my past.

We all get to this point eventually, if we are lucky. I have led an interesting and challenging life, and I have no regrets.

I want to begin by describing myself. I am now 74 years old and retired. I have two adult children. One is married and lives in Philadelphia, and our youngest lives with us here in North Carolina, where we retired. We have lived here in North Carolina for the past nine years.

Previously, we lived in Pitman, New Jersey, for twenty-four years. We purchased that home because I had graduated from Temple University, Tyler School of Art. I was forty-one when I graduated with a BFA and Teaching Credentials for Art. I was the only adult student at that time. I graduated with a Magna Cum Laude. (Great with Honors.) I have to admit those four years were challenging to me as I had two young daughters at the time, and a home to take care of and all the responsibilities a woman has with children, school-age, and younger. My youngest daughter was at a Christian Day School, and my oldest daughter was going to school and then staying at a friend’s home until I arrived home from Tyler.

I’m not going to lie, it was extremely difficult to have the responsibility of my children and go to college full-time. Then have to get home on time to pick up my daughters and go home to do the cooking, clean the house, care for my young daughters, and then spend the night after my daughters go to bed and do my required reading, artwork that was due the next day. By the end of the day, I was exhausted. I still had to go food shopping, take my daughters to pediatrician appointments, and doctor’s appointments.

Let’s say I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep, nor did I have any free time, with projects to complete before my next class, studying art history. The list goes on and on. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was overwhelmed at times, but I never gave up. I always had my work for school on time, always, even if I had to go without sleep.

It became apparent to my instructors that I was always prepared, and so my work, whether it was artwork or written work, was always, always done on time. And so every one of my instructors would ask me to put up my work in front of the class, or they would read my written work in front of every class I attended, and they (the whole class) would critique it. And believed me, they didn’t hold back on the critiques, nor did the students, who rarely completed their work on time.

I have to admit that going to college at thirty-six was not easy by any stretch of the imagination, with two young children. But I have always been a stubborn person, and I knew there was no way in hell I was ever going to give up until I accomplished my goal of graduating from Temple University at the top of my class in 1991. And that is precisely what I did. I graduated with Magna Cum Laude. (Great With Honors) I was forty-one years old. I had a Bachelor of ARTS with teaching credentials. It hadn’t been easy, but nonetheless, I succeeded and was proud of my accomplishments.

I requested my Tyler School of Art instructors to write references for me so I could apply for and eventually get a teaching position at the Elementary or Middle School level. And they were happy to do just that. All my instructors in Graphic Design, Painting, and Drawing gave me their reference, and so did the Dean of Temple University. So, I was quite optimistic about getting an art teaching position, hopefully in New Jersey, where I was currently living.

Unfortunately, things did not work out as I had anticipated. After sending out resumes to all the Elementary and Middle schools, I did not receive any positive responses. What I ultimately found out was that New Jersey School Systems were no longer funding the teaching of art in the Elementary, Middle School, or High School. These curricula were no longer taught in New Jersey Schools. I had little response from the Philadelphia Elementary Schools as well. To say that I was disappointed would be an underestimate of how low and discouraged I was. Here, I was at forty-one, having just graduated with a BFA and Teaching credentials in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and unable to find employment. To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement of all time. I was way past discouraged; I was downhearted. And I didn’t know what to do next. I couldn’t help but feel that I had just wasted four years of my life attending college and excelling at it. And yet there were no jobs to be found. 

I spent a long time trying to consider what my possible employment would come from. And then it occurred to me that I could start my school. I saw an advertisement for a large home for sale in Pitman, New Jersey. It had been empty for eight years. It was not in great shape. It needed a great deal of work and repair, including new heating and air-conditioning and a new roof. Pitman was a small town, but we fell in love with both the house and the city the first time our realtor took us to see the house. And yes, the house needed a great deal of work. But, it was in a great neighborhood and it had a large population of friendly neighbors, many with small children, middle school, and high school. The New Jersey government was no longer funding art programs. So, I decided this would be where I would teach art. It took us a long time to renovate the part of the house where I would be holding my art classes. Then, I applied for a permit and was given one by the Pitman government. I placed an advertisement in the Pitman News and World Report. 

And sure enough, I began getting phone calls from parents and adults who wanted to take Art Classes. I called my school, THE ART ROOM. I taught art to children after school and on Saturdays, and in the evening, I taught adults. And sure enough, my phone started bringing,g asking for information about the children’s classes and adults interested in taking the lessons as well.

So, no, I didn’t make a great deal of money; I never got rich. But I did teach art for many years at The ART ROOM, and I made a great many friends in Pitman. It was a great town to live in, and we came to love it. We lived in Pitman for twenty-four years until we retired. At which point we wouldn’t be able to afford living in our house, since the Real Estate Taxes were relatively high. And to say it was challenging to leave Pitman and our beloved home of twenty-four years would be the understatement of all time.

We considered all our options, and ultimately, we decided that living in the South would be the most affordable place to live on Social Security and our savings. So, we put our beloved house up for sale and told our friends and neighbors that we were going to retire and move to the south. That we loved them and would miss them.

And so, my friends, we visited North Carolina and decided that we would find a home there where we could retire, and that we did. So, here we are nine years later, retired and living in North Carolina. It is a beautiful place to live. But, in all honesty, I miss my friends, family, and our lovely home in Pitman, but life doesn’t always end the way you expect it to.

So, here I sit at seventy-four years old with my husband, who is seventy-five. Do we miss New Jersey, yes, and we miss seeing our elder daughter more often; she and her husband live in Philadelphia. Our youngest daughter lives with us. We live in a small development, and we have a lovely house. But honestly, I miss all my family and my friendly neighbors in New Jersey. It appears as if the North Carolinians are not as pleasant as we had hoped they would be. But that’s the way of life, you never really know how things will turn out. You have to try to be optimistic and take one day at a time, doing the things you enjoy. And now, I have decided to start painting again, since after we moved here, I started writing and stopped painting. But I realized that I could do both, paint and write. So, my dear friends, that is precisely what I intend on doing. In addition, I am going to start making jewelry again. So, life goes on. Some days are good, and some days are not. But you have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Life is what you make of it. Try not to lose your momentum; life goes by quickly, so don’t waste a minute of it. I intend on making my last years on this planet good ones. I have spent the previous nine years volunteering at an animal sanctuary, taking care of parrots and various other birds. I came to love them. I know that my time on this planet is limited, but I promise you folks that I will continue to write my stories and paint and draw and create unique things. If you can, please follow my blog on Facebook. It is called WRITE ON, and I post it on Wednesday. Take care until we meet again in my imagination. Love, Susan A. Culver: writer/ artist