Oh, God. I cannot believe what I just found out. either I am totally moronic, or just haven't seen the right media about the 9/11 attacks, but I just found out that my very best RL friend had a cousin who died in those attacks! To make matters even worse, he was on one of the planes, and he was one of the three men that jumped the terrorists on that
plane. It's not like they have a common last name or that he had a different last name, either. Their last name (yep, his, too) is Bingham (yes, as in Binghamton, NY - which was originally named for her family). His name was Marc Bingham. I feel so horrible right now that all this time has passed, and I never knew that my best friend lost a family member in the 9/11 tragedy! Granted, they weren't close (she's 24 - well 25 in April - and had only met him like 10 times her whole life) but still....That's just a little too close to home.

In much happier news, Amy got her Progress Report this week! She started off the school year reading at a 4.5 grade level with 84% comprehension accuracy, and is now reading at a 4.8 grade level with 100% comprehension accuracy. Her writing stage, which I'm not sure exactly what is, but is based somehow on how well her handwriting is, as well as her grammar, punctuation, spelling, and ability to write in proper style (complete sentences, complete stories with a beginning, middle, and ending) has went from a level 3 to a level 4 (the highest is level 6, and according to her teacher, most 2nd-graders are usually at about level 2). Her independant reading level (the level she can comfortably read at on her own) has jumped from a 3.2 grade level to a 5.0 grade level, and according to the computerized reading test that they give, her Grade Equivalent reading level is 5.5m which is equal to or higher than 99% of 2nd grade students tested nationally. Just so you don't get the idea that she is all brains, the child (at 8, mind you!) is 4ft 8in tall (yes, she's almost 5 feet tall already!) and weighs about 72 pounds, and has long blond hair and jade green eyes. If I were writing her into a fic, all the MS haters would be screaming, but she's for real!