I live and write on Lingít Aaní, and gratefully acknowledge the past, present and future caretakers of this beautiful place, the Jilkaat Kwaan and Jilkoot Kwaan.

Last night at the Haines school spring concert the stage was decorated with colorful paper flowers and green paper grass made by Krystal Lloyd and her family. Krystal is a doer. She also organized the community Easter egg hunt, gathering and stuffing about 5,000 eggs with candy and prizes. (I know right? Wow.)She is wonderful.

Of course there were many concert helpers–  Melissa made the program, and Lori and Michael ran the Chilkat Center lights and sound, Cheri herded the children backstage, Sam recorded the show, Lucinda played the piano, the teachers guided the children on and off the stage and shushed them when they settled back in their seats on the floor up front. The longtime K-4 music teacher, Jennifer Johnson, wore a flowered dress and a Darth Vader mask and marched each class on stage to Star Wars music. It was funnier each time.

Jennifer is retiring, and next year my daughter Stojanka, who has been teaching private piano lessons, will be the new elementary school music teacher.(Matt Davis is still the music director. He conducted the fifth grade band performance which was a long way from Hot Cross Buns. (Linus and Lucy, Rockin’ La Bamba, Festival of Gladiators.) The Haines music and art programs are wonderful and always have been.

I sat next to Stojanka  and her family for the first half of the concert, and with her older sister Sarah and her family for the second half. Three granddaughters performed. I heard Silvia Rose singing loud and clear. She is out growing her shyness.And I love it that Lani plays the trumpet and Ivy the trombone. Two horn players! My Aunt Mary Ann played the trombone, family legend has it, in the Pittsburgh symphony. My mother was a flautist and gave us our piano years ago. I believe they were both near last night– don’t you think spirits dwell in music?

It wasn’t so long ago that Stojanka and Sarah were on that stage with their sisters and brother, and so were Krystal, Melissa and Lucinda their siblings. Now they are parents and their children look a lot like them.  It felt like I was viewing a rolling newsreel of my life and then everything went sort of blurry for a minute. Good blurry. Grateful blurry. Life really is like a river running to the sea. The same and new each day.

And that was all on my mind before the littlest kids sang, “I Think You’re Wonderful,” by Red and Kathy Grammer. “When somebody says that to me, I feel wonderful, as wonderful can be…” they sang, loud and clear and so earnestly. “…it makes me want to say the same thing to somebody new… we will lift up the world one heart at a time… saying this one simple line.”

Which may be a long of saying that I think you are wonderful, too.

I have been on a break from social media since March 28th, including a little vacation down in Tenakee Springs where I was basically off-line. I struggle with the harm the internet does. My heart needed more face to face time and less Facebook. It has been a long winter. But now that the days are longer than the nights, and the cherry trees are about to bloom, I’m jumping back in. I have missed you. Thanks for missing me too.