Not so good...

...is how I'm doing lately. Thanksgiving was fine until we found out that my Pop-pop is dying. Since then, my mother has been going back and forth to Philadelphia to help my aunt take care of him. Things have been getting progressively worse. I have been expecting "the call" for about a week now, though the doctors only gave him four days. It's been really hard on all of us. He's a very special person and we all love him a lot. I am very close to him so, it's hard to know I'll never see him again. Felipe has really supported me through this last week, even though it's a sad time for him too-- they really liked each other. On top of that, we're coming rapidly into finals week. Stress levels are rather high at the moment. In so many ways, I just want this semester to end so I can re-group and recover during Christmas. It has been and will be a bitter-sweet holiday season this year. I will miss him a lot. Losing a grandparent is hard because, usually, it's your first experience with death and it is a sort of signal that your youth/childhood is ending. I don't feel ready to grow up yet. Maybe no one ever does...you just have to.