Yes, Haley and I sometimes have our best discussions in the car. Now that she drives and has her own car, those discussions are fewer and far between now :o( We talk everyday still but it's not quite the same as when there is no place to go.

Haley lost her grandpa a couple of days before her 6th birthday. Her grandma's birthday was a few days after that. You would think at that age that she would not really understand it all other than he was not around anymore. Not true. Every child is different and Haley's grandpa was in her life since the day she was born. He lived next door to us and we lived in the home he built. It was the home all of his military buddies (he was in the original special forces units in Vietnam and went to annual reunions) knew of and all of his relatives from across the country. It was to our home everyone came so we had all of the events here. He was Catholic. He had Catholic and military services. Everyone showed up in uniform. My ex-husband was active duty military then and in special forces as well. His unit came to the services and performed at the services. The full event if you know what I mean with the salute et al. It was heartrenching for her. It was as if everyday when he was no longer there, she had to remember again that he wasn't going to be there ever again. I really feel for you and your daughters. It is one of life's experiences that we wish we could shelter our kids from. Not much is more painful to them than that.

One thing your girls are very fortunate for is to have had a grandfather who was present in their lives and a loving one. And now, most important of all, a dedicated loving father to help them through this.


>Cool. You are in for a treat.
>
>I guess I am spoiled living in such a populous area. There are so many movie theaters you can always see a movie. Maybe you have to wait until the next show to see a blockbuster on its opening weekend, but that's normally as bad as it gets. And even then the wait is probably going to be no more than an hour since the garganto-plexes show the hot movies on multiple screens.
>
>As it happened I saw NCFOM in an audience of three: myself and an older couple in the back. It was a snowy Thursday night and the Bears were playing, so most Chicagoans with any sense were at home. I said this to Emily on the way home and she smiled. She added that she appreciated my making it possible for her to play club volleyball. It's always nice to hear gratitude from a teenager, and a little breathtaking <g>. I said no problem, we (her mom and I) know volleyball is important to her, so it's important to us. It was a nice daughter-dad conversation. Funny how many of the best conversations with the girls are in the car. Is it that way for you and Hayley?
>
>Funny, too, how reality has a way of intruding. When we were 5 miles or so from home Allie called Emily on her cell with bad news. Their mom had just called about her dad / their grandfather. He is 80 and has been going through various health issues, most recently going back into the hospital a couple of weeks ago. The doc said on Thursday that he had 7-10 days to live. This is hitting both girls hard. They have been lucky in not having to lose anyone close to them yet. This will be the first. (The first of a flurry, I suspect; all four of their grandparents are in their late 70s and have been hospitalized for one thing or another). Jim has been a great grandfather, in addition to a great father and even a great father-in-law, if you can believe that. It's a cliche but he truly has lived for his family. Every school event, every ballgame, every birthday party, he and Pat have been there and shown enthusiasm. A generation of grandchildren have grown up knowing the joys of
>sleepovers at Grams and Pops'. I am not being sarcastic. They really always were fun events for the kids.
>
>When Jim dies there won't be a big obituary in the Tribune. He isn't rich or famous. He has just touched his little corner of the world and made it a better place. We call him the common man.
>
>
>>Actually no, I have not seen it yet. It is only showing in a small theatre downtown and the lines are horrendous. I've tried twice already. Hopefully I won't have to wait until it is on DVD. I've heard so many people recommend it though and now one more! :o)
>>
>>I just started reading 'The Alexandria Link' by Steve Berry - it's great., my next will be 'Pillars of the Earth' by Ken Folliet.
>>
>>
>>>This is following up a post by Tracy a few days ago but I don't know how to start a new thread and address it to anyone but All. (That All! -- he's all over). That's OK because I have a bona fide recommendation this time.
>>>
>>>You asked if I had seen "No Country For Old Men". I said not yet but I intended to. Last night the perfect opportunity arose and I jumped on it. Emily has volleyball practice every Wednesday and Thursday evening from 7 to 9:30. It's in Crystal Lake, a half hour drive from here, so there isn't much sense driving back and forth. As it happens there is a cineplex a mile or so from the practice facility. That worked out perfectly and I suspect will continue to do so -- drop her off at 6:45 when they are supposed to be there, catch a movie starting around 7, and be back there by the time practice ends. Beautiful!
>>>
>>>Anyway, the movie. I think I told you I liked the book and I liked the movie at least as much. Tommy Lee Jones does some of his best work as the world-weary Texas sheriff whose eyes have seen too much. Various other actors/characters are equally brilliant. But the guy who walks off with the show is Javier Bardem in his chilling portrayal of Chigerh (sp.?), who is as memorable a character as we have had on screen in quite a while.
>>>
>>>You (Tracy) didn't say that you had seen it but I assumed you had. What did you think?
>>>
>>>Here is Roger Ebert's review:
>>>
>>>http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071108/REVIEWS/711080304
>>>
>>>Roger mentions "Fargo" more than once but the Coen brothers movie NCFOM reminds me of most is the one that put them on the map, "Blood Simple". Both are set in Texas, the bleak parts, and feature characters who could cut glass with their flintiness. The moral scenery is as arid as the empty Texas vistas -- every man (and some of the women) for himself, and devil take the hindmost. It's no country for sentimentality.