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									<title>Story of my Brave Mother-in-Law</title>
									<link>http://www.fropper.com/ezBlog/froppervasaq</link>
									<description>The jump from the sky !</description>
									<language>en-us</language>
									<pubDate>Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:19:33 +0000</pubDate>
									<lastBuildDate>Thu,  1 Jan 1970 05:29:59 +0000</lastBuildDate>
				
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						<title>Story of my brave mother-in-law</title>
						<link>http://www.fropper.com/post/12491</link>
						<description><![CDATA[What will a typical high-school math teacher do after retirement? Tutor students on the side or lead a peaceful life? But my mother-in-law, Mrs. P.V. Swarnakumari, chose to be different from others and skydived at the age of 59!  Interested in adventure activities, she was a member of the National Cadet Corps during her school and college days. All her brothers and sisters used to comment that in her childhood she used to climb trees faster than boys of her age, and was always called a &lsquo;tom-boy&rsquo; by her teachers. Though known for her mischief, my mother-in-law excelled in studies. She showed a keen interest in math and used to help her fellow-students understand the concepts. She completed her B.Sc in Mathematics and she started her career as a math teacher in renowned school in Coimbatore, TN. She served as an outstanding and committed teacher for 33 years. A particular incident exemplifies her passion for teaching and her students. We both had gone shopping one evening when a girl approached us. She introduced herself as a mother of my mother-in-law&rsquo;s students and said that she was thankful for playing a huge role in her daughter&rsquo;s life. Apparently, her daughter was blind and my mother-in-law had coached her, not only in math, but also in all other subjects and helped her secure a position in college. I was so touched by this incident and realized that no matter what job you do, you will be given a way to change somebody&rsquo;s life, which my mother-in-law just did to the blind girl&rsquo;s life. Not only is she a wonderful teacher, she is also a great parent. Widowed at a relatively young age with two sons to take care of, she strived to provide a good life for her sons. From my husband, I came to know that she would sacrifice her personal expenditures to provide something extra for her children. Her dreams about her children are now complete as her eldest son is in one of the chief positions of a leading cellular service provider and his wife, a doctorate in Sociology working for one of the leading market research company in India. Her second son (my husband) is studying for his doctorate in electrical engineering in the U.S.  During her visit to the U.S. to meet my husband and me, she decided to dare this feat of skydiving. She jumped from an astonishing height of 14,000 feet at Thomaston, Georgia in the U.S. and created a record. She is the first woman from Tamil Nadu to have skydived at the age of 58. Recalling her experience about the jump, she recollects that &lsquo;For a second before jumping, I was a bit scared. But immediately after jumping I started enjoying it. I felt like a bird for those 3 or 4 minutes&rsquo;. She keeps saying that she will repeat the jump when she visits the U.S. again the next time. After her return to India from the U.S., the news about her skydiving made it to popular TV channels like Sun TV, Jaya TV and Surya TV. She was interviewed by these channels and her interview was published in popular regional and national newspapers. I hope her experience will be an example to other women who feel that their life has come to a full-stop after they retire or get their children married. From my mother-in-law i have learned that age is a state of mind and one can achieve anything irrespective of the age.  With her duties as a parent and a teacher fulfilled, her only dream is to skydive with her grand-daughter (now 4 years old) when she turns 18 as that is the legal age limit to perform a dive. I wish her dream will come true and she will continue to be an inspiration to many more women !  Please watch her skydive video here at http://youtube.com/watch?v=W7WKRTDHedI  ]]></description>
						 <pubDate>Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:19:33 +0000</pubDate>
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