Bookkeeper to Experience Corps Reading Tutor

Mesa, Arizona

Pat Dexter abandoned retirement for the thrill of teaching children the great pleasures of reading.

Two reasons lingering inside of me caused me to abandon my retirement and return to work with Experience Corps as a volunteer tutor who received a stipend. But my absolute decision, my Encore Moment, came about because of one word. That word was barely.

I came from a large working class family. By age 8 I helped my brothers with their paper route. At home I helped mother with a younger brother, and I babysat with neighbor’s children to earn money. I knew I was needed.

My secret passion was reading. Since there was no money for books, Mom saw to it we lived near a library. Much time was spent in the library. I traveled the world in my imagination. I will always remember the library volunteer who whispered to me, "Down aisle three you will find books about the life of a girl who helps Mom with baby brothers and sisters." She steered me to adventure stories I could identify with.

As a young adult, I earned a living as a bookkeeper. While rearing my three children I returned to school and later worked part time as a teacher. I also spent much time volunteering in the library, with the school, in our church and as a Scout leader.

Later, after the children were on their own, I returned to full-time work and continued part-time volunteering. Finally, I reached retirement. "Yea!" Now it was my time to play, to do just anything I wanted. Except it wasn’t. One of my sons had died and left two children who needed help with a college education. If I was to help these young people financially I needed to earn money. My retirement income wasn’t quite enough.

Experience Corps advertised a need for tutors to help with children with reading. Some would be paid a stipend. This work fit with my experience as a teacher and as a freelance writer. And it was something I would enjoy. The hours were reasonable. But I hesitated because the stipend was so small I would barely earn the extra money I needed.

Barely was the word that triggered my "Encore Moment." I remembered that I barely made it while climbing to the top of Crater Lake Mountain. But I did. I barely finished college. But I did. I barely survived a heart attack. But I did. So what if I barely earned enough to make those extra expenses? I would. And at the same time I would be using my talents to help children learn to read. Hopefully, they would also learn to love reading, as I did.

Barely is a good word. It packs a lot of power. I wanted to give underprivileged children the chance I had been given to learn to enjoy reading so their world would be rich with adventure. I believe a tutor should love what he or she is doing. That’s me. And not barely.

See Pat Dexter's profile