When I was a teenager I attended an "Especially for Youth" conference and became a huge fan of singer/songwriter Steve James. I soon purchased his cassette tape (what?!) and wore it out. After a couple of years I wanted to tell him what an influence one particular song of his had on me. I wrote a letter telling him how much I loved his song "If You Only Knew", and mailed it to the address on the tape. The letter was returned as "undeliverable" and I was so sad.
Well, Jackson's school had a music night a few weeks ago where they performed the songs they had been learning in their music classes. The flyer that was sent out said that there would be "special guest, Steve James" and I was intrigued. I wondered if this could be the same Steve James I met as a 17 year old kid. I made sure to get there really early just in case the line was out the door to see him (The kids and I were the only ones there for a good 20 minutes). Anyway, it WAS the same Steve James. He has won several national awards for his children's music and tours the nation performing with schools now. The principal at Jackson's school was Steve's childhood friend in California, so he made sure to get him for his school. After the performance I went up and spoke with Steve and told him of the influence his song had had on my teenage/young adult years and actually got teary eyed just telling him about it. I think I caught him off guard, but it was so good to finally get to say the things I had written in the letter 17 years ago.
Jackson getting ready for the show
Steve James (sorry about the horrible quality of the pic!)
Jackson and a couple of his buddies.
As for what the rest of us have been up to, we have been taking life just a day at a time. We can hardly wait to get to Arizona to see all of our family and friends. A year is just too long to go without seeing all of them! We will be spending most of our time in Pinetop for Geoff's first internship, but we will make it to Mesa at least a few times, and I am planning on staying there for at least a week after Geoff comes back up to Utah for his few weeks of summer classes. After the past 7 years with Geoff in school we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel - and it feels good! I am so proud of Geoff for how hard he has worked to get to this point! Oh, and case you are wondering - we still dance around here!
This one is a crack up!
Today was quite an emotional day for Natalie - in fact, she was a wreck! Let's just say that she does NOT deal well with saying good-bye to friends she may not (and probably will not) see again. The preschool she has been attending has kids come clear from South Salt Lake to as north as Ogden - and even when a girl in Natalie's class moved last month, her parents even drove her down twice a week from Pocatello Idaho for school. The kids LOVE these teachers, who as mother and daughter have been teaching preschool for I believe over 30 years. The teachers were in tears most of the program, which I think probably set Natalie off.... which set ME off! Anyway, we are glad she had the opportunity to make friends and get out of the house every now and then. Here is a highlight of the show:
