“Tis a gift to be simple
‘Tis a gift to be free
“Tis a gift to come down
Where we ought to be
And when we find ourselves
In that place just right
We will be in the valley
Of love and delight.
Simple Gifts - A Shaker song
One of the many questions we get every summer is “what ever happened to last year’s crew, where are they now?” There is a pattern that we see which is the crew tend to spend one or two years with us (except Mary….we won’t let her go!) and then move on to other vessels that tend to go farther into the horizon, or they do what’s right and go back to college. A few have moved on to real careers and fewer have gotten married and now have children. It’s always amazing to hear from them. One such person, Annie Nixon as many of you know who still sails with us off and on as adjunct facility, has moved on to working for the Ashwood Waldorf School where our children attend. She has spent several years teaching there and this winter has taken on the role of annual auction coordinator/director. (Yes she and Carob finally got married!) I’ve worked with Annie both on the boat and now on the auction and have to say, it’s amazing at how the two worlds are similar. Lots of organizing and following thru with the 6P’s. Both worlds giving the simple gifts of Maine.
The event “Simple Gifts of Maine” is the one and only large chance for the school to raise money to then give to the families in need for tuition assistance. The logo is called “Seeds” and is fitting as we are trying to give the simple gift of the chance to attend the school for a child, to plant the seed of the Waldorf education within them, all for the outcome of a brighter future for the child and for the world around us. Annie has done (and still is, it’s not over yet!) an amazing job of orchestrating this seed planting. I’ve been proud to work with her and delighted to see how one crew member can go from climbing the rigging one day, taking care of 28 passengers and maintaining the schooner to taking charge of her own “ship” and sailing it thru another year, past the horizon that was sailed last year. This event will be a huge success to Annie and all those involved in it and all those who will be helping us to give the simple gift. If you have a chance, take a look at the auction website (and feel free to make a bid!)
www.ashwoodwaldorf.org/auction/
Have a great day! Do well. Give a simple gift today, smile at someone!