RainbowsWithinReach: St. Croix Author School Visit: Dreams to Fruition! {Take Aways!}

Author-Illustrator School Visit

Dateline: St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

How do you tell a story that in many ways is the summation of your entire life?

How do you capture it in a simple blog article?

Where do you begin? How do you connect the dots?

This is my Praise Report of ALL Praise Reports.

What lessons lie within my experience

that could be *inspirational* for others bringing their own dreams to fruition?

You kinda, sorta start at the beginning, with the classic:

Once upon a time............

In my 19.79 years as an Arts consultant, every adventure I have ever gone on is the result of one person with a vision quilted together with my own willingness. This incredible journey to make a school visit to the island of St. Croix, begins with "Miss Barbara" somewhere in the state of Illinois, earlier this century.

That picture above is roughly 11 years ago.

{I know. I know. I don't look a day older!}

Mwahahahahahaha.

Miss Barbara met me at a professional development conference in the Midwest, somewhere along my travels and fell in appreciation of my songs and my work. She sang "Goldie Goldfish" and "Let's Work Together" at the school she directed and she became a genuine card-carrying-Debbie Champion.

TAKE AWAY #1: We all need champions. We need each other. We need to have a village and we need the support of a tribe. We grow our tribe, one individual at a time. In this case. The person to whom I am grateful? Miss Barbara. One person can change your entire life. One person has the experience and the connections to take you on a magic carpet ride beyond anything familiar.

Miss Barbara is exceptional in every way. For quite some time she emailed and asked me to connect directly with her children on St. Croix. It turns out that eight years ago, she left her preschool in IL and relocated with her hubby to the beauty of this amazing island. She found that her gift with children translates to this culture and she now teaches the 'littles' in this tropical paradise.

Barbara personally and persistently kept after me to learn how to SKYPE. I was hesitant, I drug my heels, I made excuses and in the end Barbara's insistence turned the tide. My first ever author-illustrator visit connected me to the island. To Barbara directly. To her classroom. To her children.

TAKE AWAY #2: Champions have their own gifts. Listen intently. When we hush-up, they can lead us out of our own comfort zone and in the process widen our world. Literally.

Over time, Barbara launched her campaign of invitations to actually have me COME TO HER SCHOOL IRL! In person. Knowing how relentless this woman is with her ideas, after years of her insisting, we started looking at flights. We then realized that we had enough 'points' for both of us to fly round-trip to Barbara. To St. Croix.

Then it was just a matter of getting calendars to coordinate.

Zip. Zap. Zowie. The two of us were in flight. On our way. Over the water. Landing on the island. Departing the plane.

Me taking pictures of the airport's welcome signs. So caught up in documenting our arrival, I didn't even look up to see:

FIFTEEN 3 & 4 year old children, waiting eagerly to GREET me! Dressed in GREEN for St. Patrick's Day!

GROUP HUG!! Squeals. Airport singing. A FIRST! I have never before been greeted at the airport by a class on a field trip intent to hug me in person.

{Who does that? Brings 3's & 4's to an airport? Miss BARBARA!}

TAKE AWAY #3: Life is full of surprises! Open your heart AND YOUR EYES to experience opportunities too big for you to dream up on your own. To receive SURPRISES, you MUST say yes to the invitation. You have to get your ducks in a row. You have to pack your suitcases. You have to leave your recliner. You have to trust your tour guide. THEN SAVOR THE GROUP HUG DELIGHT & store it away for the highlight reel.

We gathered our luggage and rental car and followed Miss Barbara back to her home. Driving on the "wrong" side of the road is an adventure. Not for the faint-of-heart, but the sights along that road are worth the spending of the necessary adrenaline for the transition.

Now for the setting of our ENTIRE week in St. Croix. We were housed in the GUEST HOUSE on a benefactor's estate. We drove along side the island shore pictured above, until we reached a 'plantation' area. We then began the ascent up the BIG hill/small mountain for about a ten minute climb.

Even though Barbara had told us we would have our 'own' guest house, nothing she had described had prepared me for the splendor. Behold the guest house. Our bedroom was on the second floor, with a view out our veranda of the ocean below.

The estate itself is just adjacent to the 'rain forest' portion of the island.

Dense trees in one direction.

Vista-view in the other.

After we got unpacked and my grateful heart returned to normal thumping,

we went into the village of Fredriksted for dinner

and to meet Miss Barbara's other half.

Kenny is quite a character.

The fact that our two husbands got along so famously and effortlessly

from the first instant was yet another treasure.

PRICELESS.

PINCH ME: our first sunset.

Kenny and Barbara visited St. Croix eight years ago. They fell in love with the place. They talked about claiming it as their own once they retired. Instead, they took the plunge, sold their businesses and moved there permanently and continue to work towards-retirement in paradise every day.

[Barbara has confided in me that she feels 'called' by our Creator to serve, to teach on this island. In the midst of all the splendor and the breath-taking natural beauty, there is also abject poverty and many who face a very tough life. Miss Barbara has listened to her calling and gives her best to her new friends, neighbors, students and the other islanders as her tribute to her faith and her beliefs.]

TAKE AWAY #4: Life is Short. Say YES! When your heart sees an opportunity? SEIZE the opportunity! The details can be worked out in time. Leap and the net will appear. Build your own dream. Start now. RIGHT NOW! Go! {We're not getting any younger.} Listen to that still small voice urging you to your best version of yourself.

The next morning arrived right on cue and our brilliant and generous tour guides were kind enough to take the day off from their work-life to show us about the island. We are perched on the furthest west corner and our goal was to make it to the furthest eastern part of the US territory: Point Udall.

Picture of Point Udall from the Travel Bureau

To say the view was breath-taking is an understatement.

This is the exact moment when I wish I were truly a poet.

I would attempt to describe the number of shades of blue:

azure, cyan, turquoise, indigo, denim, periwinkle, teal,

their shifting, sliding, slithering sea of buoyancy as waves crash

against ethereal wisps held captive mid cobalt cerulean backdrop of cascading clouds.

Foreground and background merge and disperse.

[I will give this some further thought and see if I can write an actual poem.]

That's Buck Island Reef National Monument, off in the distance,

more on that later in the travelogue:

#BucketList!!!

TAKE AWAY #5: It is very easy to smile when you are exploring a Caribbean island. It is simple to go 'off the grid' and to let go.....when the breezes are blowing and the skies are clear and it as though all is right with the world. Plan it. #MakeItSo! Block out time in Shangri-la to recharge your soul.

Only one more sleep until it is time for me to don my polka-dots and head to Happy Faces 2, wearing my author-illustrator hat. We have a plan! We have a time-table. I am excited..... I've met the children, now to visit them in THEIR classroom, in their space and together we will sing-my-songs! LET THE FUN BEGIN!

Does it look like I'm on an island?

Does it look like I'm on St. Croix?

Can you see the cerulean sea?

Or does it look like any preschool on the mainland?

While Miss Barbara was the one with the BIG vision,

it takes the support of an entire team.....

Meet Ray and Sharlene:

owners and directors of the premiere Early Childhood facility on the island.

They built this site.

One brick (block) at a time.

PERSONALLY.

Over time.

With their own sweat and tears --

until it was complete.

Literally.

Built with their own hands this place.

From Mama Titus example came this space.

As much fun as we had during the school day.....

that was certainly not sufficient.

We had an earlier brainstorm:

to invite parents to return to Happy Faces 2

for FAMILY FUN!

What a festive backdrop -- for festive family fun!

It had a definite ISLAND feel!

[How much do you think I LUV that pattern on that floor?]

Bring on the families!

Bring the kiddos!

Bring on the parents!

BRING ON THE EARLY LITERACY FUN!

As much as I LUV LUV LUV watching every face and expression that the children make in response to my singing, dancing, signing, coaxing and coaching..... as much as their energy was WONDERFUL in every way......

Inviting the daddies on 'stage' was seriously my favorite three minutes of the evening.

These guys were a stellar quartet of menacing Monster mayhem!

Never before. Never-ever! Thank you manly-monster-men!

I know your children were spell bound with your enthusiasm.

What a gift!

The evening concluded with yet another 'island surprise.'

A carved wooden plaque.

Commemorating the day.

Another first.

My first, ever plaque of gratitude.

TAKE AWAY #6: "Do what you can, where you are with what you have." {Theodore Roosevelt.} "When you're going through hell, keep going." {Winston Churchill} "Follow your dreams, they know the way." {Kobi Yomada} Take baby-steps with your capability. Keep moving. Stretch. Creep. Crawl. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Progress adds up after 19.79 years.

Turns out. I am uniquely qualified to give an author-illustrator, songfest to four year olds and their families on an island, wearing polka dots. Turns out I have the exact right combination of perseverance and tenacity to bring songs and wonder to children, their teachers and their parents. Turns out that no matter how challenging my personal life is at the moment -- when I give my all to the children, truly incredible things happen.

And thus concludes my responsibilities to my author visit portion of the week.

My laptop was connected to the wider world while in the guest house. I woke up to the message that a sweet friend of mine had been in a horrific car accident and that her son was clinging to life and that it was time to pray. I looked out our veranda and the very first thing that I saw was a RAINBOW-OVER-THE-OCEAN.

What a combination. The splendor of an ocean view guest house, on a hillside of total silence and serenity with the news of how quickly life can change in an instant. Without a doubt, there hung the absolute and sincere sign in the sky from our Protector and Defender. The promise that good can come from the storm. I had said my first prayer for Carter and his mommy Tara, I prayed and there was a rainbow.

It is the weekend. Not just any weekend. It is the 47th annual St. Patrick's Day parade and festival weekend in the other island village of Christiansted.

BUT FIRST.

We must stop at the market and get our daily pop-overs

AND the day's newspaper!

*Rumor had it that the newspaper reporter who attended my morning performance at

Happy Faces 2

was going to get her pictures in the weekend paper!

FRONT PAGE FRONT PAGE FRONT PAGE

#InteractiveLearningINDEED!!!

#BeStillMyHeart

#ShutTheFrontDoor

#FRONTpageNEWSonParadeDay!

#HolyCowBatman

Miss Barbara at work to connect the polka dots again!

Somehow, we arrived on St. Croix, without proper planning...

we were completely unaware of the parade festivities

we were completely caught off guard for proper parade couture.

I went with the most 'festive' sundress in my suitcase.

Plenty of time to explore Christiansted before the crowd arrived.

{Look at the catamaran over my right shoulder: more later.}

Bring on the green.

Strike up the band.

Get out the batons and pompoms and glitter and watch for the mokojumbies!

Do you recognize Ray in his Irish Rasta wear?
So thrilled to see him coming down the street!

By this point we had been on the island for three entire days.
This was my first Mokojumbie!
Yes. That is Kenny is his festive green island shirt!
Photo credit: Allen!

This next picture is also Allen's from his PHONE!
Yes the mokojumbies and friends posed personally for him!
Top 10 memory of the week!

You're right.

I am not nearly done with adding pictures, let alone the text.

But I simply HAD to get this started.

I'll keep adding.

You can probably figure things out.

From the parade festivities we went down to the little local beach.

Time for another sundown.

I'm still wearing my parade's shamrock headband.

Everyone should sport bouncing shamrocks at sundown.

SUNDAY FUNDAY.
BUCKET LIST #1213

Snorkel at Buck Island National Reef!
Remember the catamaran from the earlier picture?
We had booked the 'whole-day' trip.