Another Thing to Do

Another thing I have to do is to return to New Orleans to get my financial affairs in order. I will use that time to settle my unemployment claim with the Louisiana Department of Labor and to turn in my keys to New Orleans Public Library. It has been months since I have worked. I miss the routine and the expectation of some different happening each day. I miss my students and my friends dearly. I also miss the food.

Boston is a lovely city. It is like New Orleans, steeped in culture. Unlike New Orleans, it is prosperous. It is also a city that takes education seriously. I could with not much struggle live here for a very long time and be content. My mother on the other hand at 92, is having a seriously hard time adjusting to the change. Her dementia has escalated and she threatens to run away several times a day. She has run off once before. That means that she has to be in an environment where she has constant care.

In Boston, there are exceptionally good senior services that have allowed us to develop a strategy for Ma to stay out of a nursing home, allow me to work, and provide a home for my nephew. That means we will probably put roots down here while we wait to see what will happen in New Orleans. Stay tuned!

It is not that bad to need a job. It is not that bad to search for a job. It is very messy when you need a job and have no idea where you will end up or how long you'll be staying where you are presently. It is terrible that there is no map or plan to follow that can tell you where to go and it all might turn out. With the passing of time the way grows fuzzier rather than clearer. Family who were once close neighbors now separated by many miles and then there’s that sharp reduction of funds. Friends that once provided a critical support system before are miles away worrying about how to redraw their own lives and bear the separation from their own families.

Now that we are all struggling to rebuild our lives since Hurricane Katrina, ripped them apart very simple things are those things that are most missed and mourned. I want an oyster Po'boy and a chance to share it with my best friends. I want to have all of my sisters and brother come to Ma's house and laugh about stupid family stories and argue about politics. I want to not be so sad and definitely not be so damn angry. Most of all I want to be closer to God because I am firm in my belief it was He that guided us safely from New Orleans to friends and family.

Finally, I miss the job that severely underpaid me. I don't miss the miserable pay. I do miss my students. I have taught reading in general and adults in particular for over twenty years. I have 19 years of work left to go before I can retire. I have decided that my gift is in teaching. It is my calling and I need to continue to do it while improving my own education. Maybe this is my time to get re-educated so that I can handle the next challenges in adult education. Those challenges are coming quickly. From that perspective unemployment may not be such a bad thing as much a kind of preparation for yielding me more green (money).

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