Day 80 of 365 Days of being Thankful
Today I am thankful that my daughter Renee is having fun and is safe in South Africa. She went cage diving with sharks. That makes me so nervous but Renee lives life to the fullest! I think they lower you in a cage and the sharks swim around you! Scary! I would never do that, I am way too timid. But I did raise my kids to live life fully. And Renee really took that to heart, she loves to travel, experience, and enjoy! In high school, we rarely saw Renee during the week. She would leave at 7:30 a.m. and sometimes not be home until 11:00 p.m. Sometimes she came home to eat and sometimes I drove her dinner to her because she needed the time to get her homework done. The plays and musicals practiced for hours after school .Renee and Amy were both in band, jazz band, orchestra, chorus and theatre. Renee usually had a starring role in the musicals. She also played varsity tennis. Renee was assistant marching instructor in the band. Renee was voted most musical in her high school yearbook! She also won the school English award! Renee is very much a doer and a joiner, not a butt sitter. Renee was also in Shreyer Honors College at PSU. In college, Renee joined the racket ball team and the outdoor club. I think it makes life richer to be involved in groups. I am in two bereaved mom groups, I lead one group. I belong to book clubs, I love to read. And I belong to a dinner group and a birthday group. I think it is nice to always have something to look forward to and it makes me get out of the house!
I am so glad that Amy did a lot in her short life because she only got to live until 18, almost 19 years old. When one of her friends gave a eulogy about her, Amy's other friends said......."Amy rides horses?/ I never knew that." Amy, as well as Renee, went to Europe with American Musicians Abroad when she was in high school. Amy also made it into the Pennsylvania State Orchestra when she was a senior in high school. She played the French Horn. At the civil trial, when our attorney was giving his closing, he said .. "I have no idea how Amy accomplished so much in such a short time, in high school she was varsity tennis captain, she made the state orchestra, she was a church lector every Sun. morning, she volunteered at the horse farm where she rode, and she had excellent grades. At Penn State, she was on the Equestrian team and still had excellent grades. I don't know how she did it!" Amy was driven to experience life and to be the best person she could be. Maybe somehow she knew that she would die young. I am so thankful that I got to be Amy's mom, even though the grief of her death is still very hard to live with.
This is what Renee posted on Instagram and Facebook. She said that she has a video of the dive to show us when she gets home.
I am so glad that Amy did a lot in her short life because she only got to live until 18, almost 19 years old. When one of her friends gave a eulogy about her, Amy's other friends said......."Amy rides horses?/ I never knew that." Amy, as well as Renee, went to Europe with American Musicians Abroad when she was in high school. Amy also made it into the Pennsylvania State Orchestra when she was a senior in high school. She played the French Horn. At the civil trial, when our attorney was giving his closing, he said .. "I have no idea how Amy accomplished so much in such a short time, in high school she was varsity tennis captain, she made the state orchestra, she was a church lector every Sun. morning, she volunteered at the horse farm where she rode, and she had excellent grades. At Penn State, she was on the Equestrian team and still had excellent grades. I don't know how she did it!" Amy was driven to experience life and to be the best person she could be. Maybe somehow she knew that she would die young. I am so thankful that I got to be Amy's mom, even though the grief of her death is still very hard to live with.
This is what Renee posted on Instagram and Facebook. She said that she has a video of the dive to show us when she gets home.
We get one life to live, so jump in a cage with some Great Whites around you!
She must have Dan's food genes because he is also like that!
Renee is on the left, her friend Ashley from her PA school is on the right, she is also doing a PA rotation in the same hospital as Renee. They are rooming together in a woman's guest house. The house owner even cooks for them. The woman in the middle is a friend they met there, she is from Germany and is traveling alone.
I was worried when we went to Ukraine that I wouldn't have many food choices but there is always chicken and potatoes! We also always found a pizza place. In Ukraine, pizza is always made with black olives. We learned that quickly and the pizza tasted really good. We even ate in a Chinese restaurant in Simferopol when we were adopting Olivia. It was so funny to us to see Chinese people speaking Russian to the customers.
I am thankful that Renee is enjoying her PA rotation in South Africa!
My friend Debbie lives in NY. I am so thankful for her friendship. She is so funny! She saw that someone in PA won the Powerball millions. She messaged me and asked if it was me!!
Unfortunately, Debbie, I didn't win!!!
Renee is also an adventurous eater. She'll try anything.
I was worried when we went to Ukraine that I wouldn't have many food choices but there is always chicken and potatoes! We also always found a pizza place. In Ukraine, pizza is always made with black olives. We learned that quickly and the pizza tasted really good. We even ate in a Chinese restaurant in Simferopol when we were adopting Olivia. It was so funny to us to see Chinese people speaking Russian to the customers.
I am thankful that Renee is enjoying her PA rotation in South Africa!
My friend Debbie lives in NY. I am so thankful for her friendship. She is so funny! She saw that someone in PA won the Powerball millions. She messaged me and asked if it was me!!
Unfortunately, Debbie, I didn't win!!!
Are you the winner? I guess I'll wait to see on your Blog. 
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