Today actually ended up being really great. We did a day trip to NY to see my great-grandmother. My father spent the morning with her, and he said that she was very out of it and didn't even respond to people, much less recognize anyone or interact. But we got there in the early afternoon, and she really seemed to perk up when she saw the kids. She smiled and held their hands, and she even played with Emily a bit. Emily brought a toy snake with her, and Grandma faked scared and then relieved when it was put away, and then winked at Willem and I. Doesn't sound like much, I know, but the woman is 92 - it was pretty special for me.

And, of course, Willem earned major, major husband-points for taking the day off work to drive me back and forth to New York and helping with everything. And my kids were absolutely angelic, from the moment we left the house this morning to the moment I deposited their sleeping bodies in bed this evening.

So, a day which could have been horrible ended up being really special for me. I know that she probably doesn't have much time left, but now I'll always have the memory of today, and I've gotten the chance to say good-bye and sort of gently introduce my daughter to the idea of death as something that isn't always scary and hard.

And now I'm exhausted. Good thing I don't have anything planned for the next few days... just a move, no big deal!

A couple photos from it...