What Is My Purpose in Life?

I’ve asked myself that for six years. I finally got the answer

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

For the last six and a half years, ever since I moved from upstate New York down here to North Carolina, I’ve been trying to find my purpose to be here on earth.

I knew when I moved here what I was expecting. I would be closer to my children and grandchildren, all of whom had moved down here years ago. I would continue to teach, as there are seven colleges near me. Surely with my Masters in English Education and my 34 years of experience, I would be able to find some classes to teach. I wasn’t looking for a full-time position; I never had one in all those years. I taught classes at two community colleges as an adjunct, which freed me from all the politics and allowed me to just focus on my students.

We plan, and the gods laugh. I never even got an interview for any of the positions I applied for. No one explained to me that I was over-qualified and was out of the price range with all that experience. Colleges could hire newbies out of college themselves for much less. I lost the career that I had loved.

Let’s see: that leaves the role of grandmother. Nope. One grandson is grown and gone, and the other one is twelve years old and so wrapped up in sports and friends that time with Nana doesn’t figure into his schedule.