Roughly two decades ago, the Lord blessed me with my first grandchildren. In the flush of early grandparenting, I sometimes wrote about Caitlyn, Courtney, Haley, Taylor and Jaxen. Several years passed before a new crop of grandkids made their appearances. Today I have 12 grandchildren on earth – and one in Heaven, Caitlyn. I dubbed the older group of five “The Old Guard.” The eight younger ones are “The Young Guns.”

Courtney is now 20; Haley, 19; Taylor, 18; and Jaxen, 17. On Oct. 22, Caitlyn will celebrate her 22nd birthday in Heaven.

In May 2020, Courtney will graduate from Pitt Community College with her nursing degree. She will join her mother Sara in one of our society’s greatest, most needed, and most demanding fields. Courtney, like her mother, knew early on she wanted to be a nurse. I still remember my 11-year-old daughter Sara telling me with certainty that she wanted to be a nurse when she grew up. Courtney has the same singleness of mind.

Haley and Taylor are both students at Pitt. They are enrolled in the College Transfer program. I am not sure either knows exactly what she wants to do in life. Frankly, expecting 18 and 19 year olds to know what they want to do for the rest of their lives is unrealistic.

I entered Ohio State as a freshman in 1968. I fully expected to major in math. Two courses in calculus convinced me I was not math major material. Since I had 15 quarter hours in math, I looked through the course catalog to see what I could study that would require no further math courses. I could have majored in a foreign language, but my southern accent and less-than-nimble tongue seemed insurmountable barriers. In the end, I considered English and history.

“I don’t like to memorize dates,” I said to myself. So, English became my major by default.

“Dad, I have decided to major in English,” I said one morning on our ride together – Dad to work and me to Ohio State.

“Son, there’s no money in that,” he replied. Man – was Dad ever right.

In the ultimate twist of fate, I had sworn while in college I would never be a teacher. Of course, I entered the classroom fresh out of college and spent 37½ years doing exactly what I said I would never do.

Fate has a warped sense of humor.

Whenever high school students – and some of my college students – approached me with the concern that they did not know what they wanted to do “for the rest of their lives,” I would tell them, “Don’t worry. I still wonder what I want to be when I grow up.”

So I am not worried about Haley and Taylor. I know at some point, a spark of interest will burst into flame to lighten their career paths.

Jaxen is cut from a little different cloth. He is a senior at Clayton High School involved in a dual enrollment program that takes him to Johnston Community College several afternoons and evenings each week. He is working toward a degree in Computer Integrated Machining Technology. He is also toying with earning a degree or certification in Welding.

“The Computer-Integrated Machining curriculum prepares students with the analytical, creative and innovative skills necessary to take a production idea from an initial concept through design, development and production, resulting in a finished product,” according to the JCC catalog.

Frankly, Jaxen reminds me of my dad. Dad was a sheet metal worker who became a self-taught draftsman. Like Dad, Jaxen can peer into 3D problems and come up with workable solutions. My dad was the same way. Jaxen is already skilled in using 3D printing.

Before long, my earthly “Old Guard” grandchildren will leave classrooms behind and begin earning their way in this world. I am so pleased the Lord allowed me to live long enough to see them nearly grown and on the road to self-sufficiency.

Mike Parker is a columnist for Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.