You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have....*

*The Facts of Life (80's TV show for those of you too young or senile to remember)

Report cards are in. BB got straight As. Ian is still having a tough time and pulled a few Cs again. He may not be going back into the Honors program next year. I can't help but wonder...is it my parenting? Did HNM not prepare him for high school? Does he not want to make the effort? Or is it really just too hard? I just don't know. And I hate not being able to solve it. Obviously, as a parent, I want the best for my children and from my children. There's no denying Bro. Martin is a good school. HNM I'm seriously having my doubts about and am now very thankful that BB is no longer there. I suppose my answer could be a combination of all of the above. I don't know. I just don't know.

Hannah posted an interesting blog yesterday. In a strange coincidence, a coworker at work on Thursday told me an interesting story about her grandfather. Part of the reason it's strange is that we work at different ends of the office and so rarely see each other. I can't even remember her name, that's how rarely we talk. We got in the elevator together to go home, and she mentioned her grandfather died a day or two before and she was having a hard time with it. They were very close and he had been sick but was getting better. Then, suddenly he aspirated and died an hour before she could get there. She was so upset she didn't get to say goodbye. Then, that night, he came to her in a dream. She said she wasn't really asleep but not awake either. He spoke to her in spanish, which she said he always spoke to her in spanish and he was the only person she spoke to in spanish. He told her two words, which she wrote down before drifing off. The words he spoke translated to "my beautiful one" and "thinking of you with fondness/sadness". He spoke one more word which she didn't rouse herself to write down and now can't remember. The next afternoon she and her husband were taking their daily walk and she heard one of the words her grandfather spoke. It was a man, calling his dog by the same name. She said she walks that route every day/same time, and she's never seen that man or his dog.

I told her I was sure that her grandfather came to tell her it was all okay and he loved her. Then I told her my story about MY grandfather. Some of you know this story, some of you don't. So, for those of you who have never heard the story, here's the condensed version:

Grandpa Smith died right around the date I was "supposed" to give birth to Ian. Because of that, I couldn't fly/drive up with the family for his funeral. One night, while I was asleep, he came to me to tell me he was okay and happy. In my dream, we were in a reception hall, sitting on folding chairs, and he was there, wearing the brightest white tuxedo I have ever seen (and a red cumberbund - don't know what that was all about). I am telling you, he was super bright! He smiled at me and leaned over and touched me. A jolt went through me that was so strong it woke me up. It was like an electric shock. I could feel where he touched me and I was tingly all over for at least 10 minutes after I woke up. To this day I am sure he came to say goodbye to me (and possibly hello to Ian, because I'm SURE he felt it too) because I couldn't come to him.