A Love Letter from Renee, Emily, Tovah Rose and Gershwin

Valentine's Day Love to You from Us

We didn't send out our traditional New Year's Cards (it was just too much to manage), so instead we are doing a little year in review for Valentine's Day.

February is always a month when we need a little extra cheer.

Here's our love letter to you (and our 2017 review)...

We participated in our local women's march. What an empowering experience that spurred activism for both of us as the year continued:

Planning and executing a Healthcare and You forum for the community. 

Meetings and a town hall with our Congressman. 

Supporting 2018 candidates.  

Emily is still knitting pussy hats!

We spent seven weeks during February and March in Sunset Beach (our fourth year there), where we walked, ate fresh seafood, shopped, watched movies, hung with the pups and tried to process the state of our country and Emily's break up.

This time is always healing physically and emotionally. And the puppies love that they have us with them 24/7. :) Emily walked on the beach farther than she has been able to walk in almost two decades. 

Upon our return home, we quickly turned around to head to Hopkins for a photo shoot with Dr. Rowe  (for a feature in the Hopkins Children's Magazine) and an appointment. A walk along the harbor and dinner out was an added highlight. This solidified Emily's calling to do more to raise awareness and funding for her illnesses.

We celebrated the Jewish holidays--Passover, Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah--surrounded by friends and devouring delicious food cooked by Renee. The rituals and foods of the holidays, as well as sharing them with those we love, bring lots of joy.

We invited different people for each holiday and enjoyed sharing the traditions with others--both Jewish and not.

For Passover, we both wore outfits from our favorite boutique in Sunset Beach. :)

The puppies increased their skill sets significantly in 2017. 

In May they passed their Canine Good Citizen tests.

In Summer, we all took an agility class together. This was hard work for all of us!

In Fall, we took a novice tricks class (they now have their Novice Trick Dog titles!)

We have two highly educated pups on our hands. They will even get in a box together!

We #eclipsed with lots of others from our town.

We participated in a new super cool program called Centred Outdoors, discovering new places of beauty in our own backyard: 

Hort Woods

 The Barrens to Bald Eagle Wildlife Corridor 

 Fisherman's Paradise

We went to our Arts Festival--one of our top favorite events--and Emily went for the first time without a wheelchair, using a seat cane instead. We relished these new opportunities and new freedoms, even though they often meant consequences afterwards for Emily! We missed being able to participate in Arts Fest for so many years.

Every year we choose a handful of performances at our local theaters. This year we saw:

 Cecile McLorin Salvant

 Once

Straight Outta Philly

Jill Biden

Rent

and the highlight of them all, Emily's birthday present, Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Scott. 

Again, we relished being able to sit in the 'regular seats' rather than needing to sit in special seating in the back row.

In October, we hosted the inaugural Rowe's Research Runners event at our home, while Dr. Rowe and others ran in the Baltimore Running Festival. We hoped to raise money, awareness and connect others with these illnesses. We succeeded beyond expectations, and  the 20 member team raised over $20,000 for research. 

#dysautonomia #chronicfatigue #onwardandupward

Mom and I even dyed our hair blue! #allin

We thank everyone who helped to make this event a success. We are already planning for this year's event on October 21st!

In looking back through the photos of 2017, we are reminded of the many joyful moments we had, the enjoyment of Jewish tradition, the arts, the natural beauty and food of our town, and the friends and family who joined us along the way. 

We are also reminded that 2017 was a difficult year for us in many ways. Emily relapsed significantly in October, and lost the ability to do all the things we were enjoying earlier in the year. Emily endured significant personal losses as well. We struggled with the state of our country, and did our best to remember the importance of not staying silent. 

At Hanukkah we held onto the light in the darkness. 

Every day is brighter, funnier, cuddlier and more precious because of these two sweet beings.

Tovah Rose and Gershwin are our little lights.

We send you our blessings for peace in 2018. 

Since "18" symbolizes chai/life in Hebrew, we are hoping for a beautiful year ahead.

We thank all of you for being a part of our lives--whether we are able to see you in person, whether you visited, or whether we keep in touch with technology--you certainly make our lives brighter and blessed.

Our love to you this Valentine's Day,

Renee, Emily, Tovah Rose and Gershwin