I am sitting here on my balcony writing to you, when four months ago I had been excitedly planning and sitting with a group of students getting ready to head to Washington DC. The changes that have happened in our nation overwhelms me. The changes that are in store overwhelms me. I have deep in my heart and mind today a sense of wonderment as to what this will mean. What will postponing the travel mean and what could come of this extra time in anticipation and preparation. I will share here that I am going to use this time to write my book and capitalize on the gift of research and reflection that this will allow. I am using this time to share with you an appreciation of the legacy of First Ladies and how they have inspired and continue to inspire me. I am here thinking of all of the students I have traveled with and will travel with to learn and embrace the richness of our histories and ways we shape one another’s futures.

I think of the song “For Good” from Wicked, which is appropriate since we saw that performed on Broadway during my first trip with students. The lyrics circle my mind “I’ve heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn. We are led to those who help us most to grow if we let them and we help them in return.” Each of the students I have traveled with has inspired me and showed me true moments of learning that far spans outside of classroom walls.