LIFE GOES ON –

PART TWO- I have arrived at that time of my life when I find myself reflecting more on my past experiences than on the future. Why, because I have more of my life behind me than in front of me. I turned seventy-four years old this past May. I don’t know how many years I have left ahead of me, but I intend to do as much as I can for as long as I can.

About two months ago, I quit working at the Animal Sanctuary where I had been volunteering for the past nine years. I stopped not because I grew tired of taking care of Parrots, but because of the owner’s complex personality. So, I decided to quit and move on. So, here I am about two months after I left the animal sanctuary. I thought I would really miss all the parrots I took care of, but I probably don’t because I have nine birds of my own, three cats, and two dogs. I have always loved animals since I was a young child.

Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Presently, I take one day at a time. In the last several weeks, I decided to start painting and drawing again, having not done so in the nine years I’ve lived in North Carolina. I taught art for many years at “THE ART ROOM.” When I was thirty-six years old and had two young children, I decided to pursue a college education, a goal I had not had the opportunity to achieve after graduating from Saint Mary of the Angels Academy in 1969. St. Mary’s was an all-girls high school. It was located in Haddonfield, NJ, a community of mostly wealthy families. I grew up in Maple Shade, New Jersey, which was a middle-class town. I applied to three Art Schools in Philadelphia, prepared examples of my artwork, and was accepted at all three Universities. I chose Temple University, Tyler School of Art, because it offered financial assistance to help cover my tuition.

And the rest of my friends are history. I managed to go to Temple for four years and never missed a day. I always had my work finished on time. My children were attending a day at a Christian day care center. I scheduled all my classes so that I would be home in time to pick them up from day care, and then I would take them home, do the laundry and housekeeping, and prepare dinner.

I have to admit, it wasn’t easy going to college full-time while also taking care of two young children, a husband, and a home. Was it easy, no, no it was not. It was exhausting. But I have never been one to give up because of obstacles or difficulties in my way.

I was the oldest student in the school, but I did not let that bother me. I made up my mind to befriend every student I met along the way, and I did. After four years, I graduated from college at the top of my class, Magnum Cum Laude, which means great with great distinction, with a Bachelor of Arts and Art Teaching Credentials. I was forty-one when I graduated. Going to college at that age was challenging at times, given the circumstances. Nonetheless, I graduated at the top of my class and got a standing ovation when my name was called out on the day we all graduated.

After graduation, I applied to every public and private elementary and middle school in the Southern Jersey area. I had no responses, and that is when I discovered that New Jersey was no longer funding art and music classes in public or private schools. I felt left down to say the least. But, over time, I made the decision that I would open my own art school. I started searching for venues where I could teach art. And eventually, I saw an advertisement for a huge, old house that formerly had been owned by a doctor of sorts. The house had been empty for eight years. Nonetheless, we went to the open house. The house was immense, and I could definitely see it had potential. But it would take a great deal of work. We made an offer for the house, and it was accepted. We put our house in Pennsauken up for sale. And after a time, no one made an offer. We offered it for rent. And that is ultimately how we sold our house.

After our house was sold, we made a down payment on the Pitman home. It took us several years to complete the necessary repairs, including a new roof and updates to the plumbing and electrical systems. After months of hard work and renovation, we moved into the Piman Home. I began preparing the three rooms where I would teach art to both children and adults. After weeks of advertising, I started receiving calls from people in Pimtan interested in their children learning about art. In the evenings, I taught art to adults, and on Saturdays, I continued this instruction.

ART ROOM entrance on the side of our house in Pitman, NJ

I had ‘THE ART ROOM for years, and I taught children after school and adults in the evenings and on Saturdays. We lived there for twenty-four years, loving every minute of our house and the town of Pitman, where we made many friends. It was a great experience and I was not sorry for a minute. Life can be challenging at times, and you can’t give up because there are obstacles in your way.

It was hard for us to put our house up for sale in Pitman; we knew we would miss the house and our friends and neighbors. Nonetheless, we were prepared to move to North Carolina, where the taxes and homes were less expensive.

We’ve been living here in NC for nine years. I still miss New Jersey, but sometimes you have to make difficult decisions; life isn’t always easy. We take one year at a time now. We have a lovely house out in the country, with a big yard where we grow vegetables, maintain a greenhouse, and tend to gardens in both our front and back yards.

Unfortunately, our neighbors are not friendly, so we find our entertainment in Raleigh and all the beautiful parks in our area. I volunteered at an animal sanctuary for nine years, but I recently stopped going due to personal reasons, mainly the difficult owner of the sanctuary.

I don’t know what will come next, life goes on, and you do the best you can from one day to the next. I have decided to start painting again. So, I look forward to that. I will post some of my paintings on my Facebook page, at Susan A. Culver.