June 2

       

        June 2 is a very special day in our family.  It was the day that my beloved daughter Amy was born. I was so excited to have a beautiful little girl.  She was my most precious gift and that feeling has never changed.   Amy died at age 18.  After her death, life had no meaning for  us.  We just wen through the motions of living and existing because we still had to finish raising Renee, who was only 13 when Amy died. Dan had told me that friends of his, also bereaved parents, had adopted a little boy from Ukraine. I thought they were absolutely crazy.  Fast forward a few years and that tiny seed grew in my mind. Maybe it was Divine Intervention, I don't know,  but we decided to adopt from Ukraine.  I am so thankful to Ukraine for giving me two of their most precious gifts.  We must have been twice as crazy as his friends because we adopted not once, but TWICE!! We adopted Olivia in March of 2007.  There is so much paperwork to adopt and we had to make several trips back and forth to Ukraine.  Dan  made the final trip to pick her up and they landed in Philadelphia on June 2.  There was absolutely no way to predict that they would land on that date. Things can change on a dime in Ukraine adoption.  We adopted again in 2009 after we  hosted our daughter Olya. Her birth date was listed as 2/6/98  so we assumed she was born on Feb 6, 1998. However, Ukraine lists the day first,  then the month.  Our mouths physically dropped when we were at the governmental adoption office and they said she was born on June 2, 1998!  Hence, June 2 is a VERY special day for our family!! Olvia has wanted a tattoo for years!! Dan and I are NOT fans of Tats!! Our rules for our kids has always been that NO ONE gets a TAT while we are funding their education or training! (or they could take out loans because our payments would cease immediately).  I think that most teenagers make different choices about tats or life in general in high school than they do in their twenties. Olivia finished Cosmetology School and passed her license test and saved money and got her tattoo last night!!  Even though I am not a fan, I went with her because I wanted to hear everything about taking care of it. She got the date of June 2 1007 tattooed in Roman Numerals above her collar bone because that is the date she became a U.S. citizen and landed in the U.S. with Dan!!  She says that she is going to have a Ukrainian tiny symbol or flag tattooed above the date of 2007  for her and for Olya, and an Angel above the June 2 in memory of Amy.  Tattoos are not cheap, that cost $100 and a $20 tip!
        Yesterday my sciatica was NOT as bad as normal.  But my Parkinson's was terrible, my balance was so off and I fell twice!  The falling is not bad because I usually fall near my couch and I can get up without too much trouble.  But being so off balance really made me feel like i was someone else!  I just couldn't get my act together if I was moving.  When sitting, I was fine, I didn't feel off balance. I think that fact that it is a MOVEMENT disorder is the reason that movement makes me feel off!  Today I have lots to do so I hope that Parkinson's gives me a break!!