This Week.

It has been a long, long week. There are so many things that happened at work and at home, it's hard to keep track.

To start the week, a student of mine was in a bad car accident. Luckily, he is okay, but it really jarred me to hear his name when I heard the news. It really made me think deeply about how much I love some of the students I teach, and how sad I would be to no longer have them in my life. I taught this student two years in a row, the second being when I was pregnant, and he still says hi to me in the hall. These little moments will a person add up to create a little bond, and if something were to have happened to him, it would have broken my heart. Thank goodness he's okay.

This time last year, my family and I were planning the quickest way to get to the north country to see my grandma for the last time. She got sick on October 7th, sent home on October 25th, and died on November 25th. Needless to say, this season is likely going to be a sad one, bringing back some memories. It's hard to believe I spent my Thanksgiving on a twelve-hour drive last year, eating McDonald's for lunch. It was a blessing that we didn't have Charlie at the time; we wouldn't have been able to take the trip at all. As much as I wish my grandma could have met him, the timing was meant to be. I am reminded of her often, and mostly when Charlie does something new, or if we have any obstacles with him. I always wish I could ask her about it, or tell her new things. She would always have something positive to say, no matter what. She would say to continue doing things the way we feel is right. Breathing the mountain air in reminds me of the coolness of her porch in the summer. Everything is going to remind me of her this fall, and it's going to be tough, but she wouldn't want us to be sad. She is with God rejoicing her in family and her heath. However, I will never stop yearning for her, to talk to her again--about anything. I would ask her everything I wish I had asked her -- more about family history, about raising children in the 50s, about being a housewife, about the secrets of gardening. I love you, grandma. Missing you dearly.

Now for a little letter to Charlie, and I'll save it for its own post...