It is time for me to say “adieu, adieu to you and you and you.” Because the Sound of Music is my all-time favorite movie (I first saw it when I was eight years old, came home and performed the entire musical, complete with costume changes for my parents), I cannot resist borrowing a few lines from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s songs for my farewell. “I hate to go and leave this pretty sight,” but “there’s a sad sort of clanging from the clock in my soul and the bells in the steeple too that are telling me it is time to say goodbye to you.”
For the past 20 years I have worked hand in hand with Vermont school employees, first promoting the well-being of students and staff in the Safe and Healthy Schools division of the Agency of Education and then, as a member of VEHI PATH’s team specifically focused on helping all of you live your best lives, at school, at home and in your communities.
It has been a whirlwind of two decades, crammed full of the best memories. I consider myself extremely blessed to have witnessed all you have put forth to recognize the value of health, advocate for healthier school environments and to invest in new behaviors to support your own well-being. You are all superheroes, and I am so proud of what you have accomplished. It goes without saying that I will continue to shout this out from the rafters, and I look forward to catching wind of what comes next.
Now 65 years of age, I can no longer push away my dreams. I pine for long-distance cycling, hiking and Nordic skiing in the US and abroad. It is time for me to “climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow”, and put my energies toward addressing my aspirations and discovering the gifts they will offer.
In early June of this year, I plan to hop on a train to Seattle, Washington with my bicycle, panniers and tent to begin cycling on all that is finished of the Great American Rail Trail (2000 miles) and the other 1700 miles that will take me back to the trail’s end in Washington DC.
I am ecstatic about being able to physically move day after day, eat plenty of cold sandwiches, sleep on the ground ( not really but why not?) and meet people from diverse communities throughout our glorious country. As my time for leaving gets closer, I will set up a blog and my PATH colleagues will send out a link to it for those of you who may to wish to follow my journey and read all about my trials and tribulations. As Amy, Ashley and Gillian often state, I usually have no problem finding some kind of drama or funny event. Let’s hope they are correct!
Let us not be strangers. I trust in the coming years I will bump into some of you at a ski center, a grocery store or in a local music venue (I long to dance once again). Your commitment to your health means the world to me. Let it carry you forward and let you shine as you move throughout your life.
“So long, farewell, au revoir, auf wiedersehen, I flit, I float, I fleetly flee, I fly. Goodbye!”
Shevonne (aka Shazam and Shevie)