Here's what I think about my other amazing kid. This was the summer when she turned 16, when she was going to learn to drive, when she was going to work hard to save money for a trip to Africa in 2008, when she was going to prepare for a junior year with no big brother hanging over her and many other things. Tim's accident could have changed all that, but it didn't.
She continued to work hard at the Inn as a breakfast, lunch and room service server and banked a nice chunk towards Ghana. She got in the car every Saturday with Amy and me and drove to Boston to be with Tim. Then she came home and went back to work - sometimes with me and sometimes on the train. Sometimes she was home alone, sometimes a friend would stay over. When Amy and I were home with her, we were swamped trying to keep up with work and home life, so couldn't always be there for her. She found her own rides, prepared a lot of meals and even did some laundry and ironing. She wrestled with the plan to go to Africa, wondering how Tim would feel about it (he told her to go). When vacation week came, Amy & I decided we just couldn't break away, and Jancy lost out on that family tradition and went with friends instead. Through it all, she has managed to become a pretty good driver, including a long stint on the Pike to Natick, although we haven't ventured into Boston yet.
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Now she's in school, playing soccer, still working Saturdays, still driving out with us and coming back on Sundays, still planning for Africa. Jancy gave up a lot of what a young woman looks forward to, and she hasn't complained a bit, except when her time with Tim is cut short for one reason or another. She could have said "what about me?" but she hasn't. She's been there for Tim from the start and we're very grateful for that. I'm sure Tim is too. We think she's pretty amazing, indeed. But that's only her parents' opinion, and what do we know?!?
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