~and he called her 'Sweet Judy Blue Eyes'~

An early "good morning" to you all out there from a place far away along the Western Slopes of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.  I am thinking of you guys and wondering how life is going at this moment in time for you.  My hope would be that all would be well for you and if perhaps it is not right now, that there would be those around you who would lift you up and help you along the way.  I've lost track of the times that I needed to call on the help of others and remain thankful to this day for friends and family who stepped in to pick up the proverbial "slack" for me.  I always wish to do the same for any one else.  As I have said before and will say over and over again......

"Where would we be without our friends and family?  In BIG trouble, that's where!"

School is quickly coming to a close with 8.5 days left to go.  We are trying hard to accomplish everything that is set out before us but sometimes it seems the school day just never does last quite long enough.  When all is said and done, on that last day we will walk out the door together and know that we did our best and everything that we could.  I take solace in that. 

One of our last big projects, now that the bulk of testing is completed, has been to research a famous Coloradoan and write a report about that person during our social studies block of time.  As a lifelong Kansan, I have learned right alongside my students this semester about the great state that I now reside in and have learned to call my new home.  Prior to moving here, now nigh unto a year ago, the balance of my "bank of knowledge of famous Coloradoans" stood at the lowly and humble "0".  I can remember one day asking my teaching partners, Erin and Amanda, to tell me some famous people we would be studying about.  They quickly listed off the names of folks like Kit Carson, Doc Holliday, Howard Tabor and his wife Baby Doe and a gazillion others.  I sat there pretty much dumbfounded thinking, "Oh man.  I am so behind already."  Thankfully when they asked me about famous Kansas people in return, I could spew out the names of John Brown, Carrie Nation, the Bloody Benders, Amelia Earhart, and Pizza Hut founders Dan and Frank Carney.  From the "get go", I had a lot to learn this year.

About 3 weeks ago as the kids were determining which person that they would like to research, I decided that I too would choose someone to do a report on.  There is no better way for  teachers to understand the assignments that they give their students than to take part in that assignment themselves.  I chose mine the same day they did but kept it a secret all of this time.  Come this Monday they will learn about a famous Coloradoan still living, a singer from my generation named Judy Collins. 

Although I had listened to her music all of my growing up years as a teenager back on the plains of Kansas, I had no idea that she had actually grown up in Denver.  Although Judy Collins recorded many songs in her career, my all time favorite would always remain Both Sides Now, a reflective song about life that many people could relate to.  It is as meaningful to me today in 2014 as it was in 1967.  That's the power of a piece of good music, that it would still mean something now nearly a half century later.  Having just typed those words, I realize that I've been around the block a couple of times :)

People who have known me for a while know that my favorite song of all time, hands down and no matter what, was released back when I was only 14 years old in September of 1969.  "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" was written by Stephen Stills and performed by CSNY for the first time at the Woodstock Music Festival.  The song was written by Stills about his then girlfriend, Judy Collins, telling of his love for her and the sorrow he would be feeling when they broke up soon.  I am not sure why I became so enamored with that song but even when I can not remember where I put my cellphone or spend forever looking for my car keys, I can ALWAYS remember these words as that song comes on the radio~

"Chestnut brown canary, ruby throated sparrow, sing a song, don't be long, thrill me to the marrow." (Stephen Stills, CSNY)

I never realized until many years later that Judy Collins was his "Sweet Judy Blue Eyes" and when I learned about the origin of the song, it all began to make sense.  There are many other things that I have learned about her, things that I will share with the "18" on Monday morning as I take my turn in presenting the project I chose to work on.  I know that they will do a good job with theirs.  I've been a witness to the hard work they have put in and what they didn't realize was that they taught me more than I taught them this time.  You know, I think that I like that about being a teacher.  I have come to learn finally after nearly 4 decades in education that it's perfectly "OK" to step back and allow the students the opportunity to show what they know.  As a teacher, it's kind of nice to know that I don't HAVE to do all the talking.

Daylight is starting to break over the mountains here and it's time to go, time to begin this good day.  I woke up this morning and if you are reading this, then so have you.  There's a plan for us and it's called our destiny.  I'm heading out to find mine.  Yours is waiting for you as well.  May 'peace be your journey' this day my dear friends and family.  From here, far away I send you greetings.  Have a great day.

If I had all of the quarters that this girl spent in the jukebox during her growing up years, I'd have a lot of quarters :)  The music of the '70s....  never been any like it since.

It's what I wish for myself.  It's what I will always wish for you. My last day on Whidbey Island where I left this message several weeks back.