Yesterday was the better of the two.
It was The Boy calling from Edinburgh where the offspring are still performing in The Actors Nightmare. It was 'A' level results day for him and The Cat and thousands of other teenagers across the country.
I stopped breathing as he told me the contents of the e-mail from the school. Three 'A' grades. Breath, smile, cheer. Very pleased. He has his place at Edinburgh University confirmed.
The phone was passed over to The Cat's Mother for the Cat to reveal all. More breath holding. A*, A, B. A grade was dropped from her requirement, so began a worrying few hours to discover whether Exeter would still have her. Advice was given...but without the UCAS official channels open for two hours, it was a matter of nervous thumbs twiddling for her.
Not for us though. We had planned a surprise trip up to Edinburgh for the day to celebrate the results. This time we would be avoiding the train. But it did mean that as phone calls were exchanged we had to tell little fibs. No I couldn't come to the phone...I was in the loo (I was driving to the airport).
Fortunately, by the time we boarded the flight, Exeter had confirmed. Much relief, much, much joy.
To be honest, I was blubbing like a baby...it's what I do these days when I'm over emotional. It never used to be like that, I was hard as nails. But the delight of a successful conclusion to all that hard work, the culmination of all their efforts throughout their school years just got to me.
Our surprise visit was only possible because The Muffins were already in Edinburgh, and had asked the two teens to meet them for lunch...nothing as usual there.
The Boy had arrived at the restaurant before us, so we snuck up behind him. Nothing but confusion. Then recognition and a big hug. Lovely.
The Cat arrived momentarily. Same confusion. Same hug. Few tears of joy.
Perfect.
We had a lovely meal with champagne..of course champagne! And then we went to see their performance again, celebrated with the rest of the cast and crew who had all also achieved their university ambitions before catching the last flight home.
A lovely day we will all remember for ever.
And to cap it all, The Boy was handed a card by an acting agent who rather liked his performance!
