Moving Right Along

With Brett's wedding now only three months away, the planning has started to really pick up.  Karen and Brett have been working on the wedding registry.  This month the two of them have also met with their mentor couple and checked in with the church's wedding planner. Brett has been spending a lot of time packing for the move as well.  Meg and I have been helping where we can.  She has been working on the bouquets, and I have been drafting wedding invitations and making Karen's shower gift.  I even got to try on my mother of the groom dress this week and absolutely loved it.  

When I look back at the planning list that Brett, Karen, and I started last September, I can't believe all that we have gotten done.  I also cannot believe how quickly the time has flown.  It seems like only last month that we were helping Meg get ready for her big day.  One thing that I am really happy about is that Brett decided to incorporate parts of Meg's wedding into his - the DJ, the photographer, the dancing, without duplicating hers exactly.  He's also been able to keep the wedding costs inside of their budget.  I definitely cannot wait to see how it all comes together.  

Great News

Before Cameron left for Spring Break, he had an interview with the Indiana University Sports Marketing Department for an internship during the next school year.  He was extremely excited about the possibility of working with them, but didn't want to get his hopes up.  I was 100% sure that he would get it, but once he told me that 250 people had applied and only twenty would be chosen, I did get a little bit nervous.

In the end, there was no need for worry.  Cameron was offered the internship last Friday and let them know today that he was excited to accept it.  Although the position doesn't officially start until next August, he was already looking forward to the opportunity.  He doesn't know the specifics of his weekly schedule but heard in the interview that he will be working every football game, may be keeping stats and possibly will be interacting with the television crew.  The specifics didn't really matter to him or I.  We were both just thrilled that he would get the chance to work with IU Athletics and find out if sports marketing would be the career for him.  

March Madness

Although I did make it to the CCW Nothern Deanery meeting yesterday morning, the rest of the weekend revolved around March Madness.  The first day of games was a little bit boring with all of the favored teams winning.  The second day brought more close games and an upset that most predicted when #11 seed Drake beat #6 Missouri easily.  Although Uncle Dan was bummed about it, Mizzou's loss actually helped most of our brackets.  Upset aside, our favorite part of basketball this weekend was watching all of the Big Ten teams win their first-round game making the argument for IU to be in the tournament even stronger.  Our beloved conference still did not have a top pick for the final four, but it was nice to have teams to pull for next weekend as well.  

One team outside of the Big Ten that we were cheering for almost got beat today.  Florida who is a strong contender for the national championship, almost went out in the second round.  We happened to be in Gainesville at Kanapaha Botanical Garden for their semi-annual plant sale when the game began.  After purchasing a few new plants for the backyard, we headed to Relish for lunch watching basketball on my phone.  The game was definitely intense, and when we arrived at Swamp Head with only six seconds left, we found the place absolutely packed.  Even with the large crowd, we could have heard a pin drop as everyone was glued to the television. Florida only had a four-point lead with six seconds to go.  Thankfully, the Gators held on to win and we enjoyed tasting a few beers while listening to Tom Petty before heading back home.

Happy 24th Birthday Meg

Meg turned 24 years old today. When I write it out like that, it seems so incredibly old. Sometimes it feels like time has just flown and she was in elementary school just yesterday. Other times it feels like she’s always been in her mid 20s. Either way, I am incredibly proud of the young woman that she has become and to be her mother.

I talked to Meg several times today. I was thrilled to hear that she and Nick were celebrating her special day with a trip to Michigan. They made plans to go to both Saugatuck and Holland before returning tomorrow. Pepperoni pinwheels, shopping and beer tasting were all on the menu. Our family absolutely loves Michigan, so I thought it was the perfect place for her to visit before she moved to Florida.

I also thought it was a really nice way for her to say goodbye to year 23. There had been some wonderful days for Meg including her wedding to Nick, her honeymoon, and her trip to California, but there were some really big challenges as well. It was hard for both of them, but in the end, it was wonderful to see that they had navigated the challenges well and had grown as individuals and also as a couple. 

Doug and I both look forward to seeing more of Meg this next year. We are also extremely excited about Nick ‘s upcoming confirmation and their move to Florida. It will be nice to have her close and I know that I will enjoy spending a lot more time with her soon.

End of a Wonderful Spring Break

Although I was sad to see Cameron's Spring Break end, I was very happy to spend the last day in Florida with him enjoying some of our favorite activities, shopping at the Florida Citrus Center and having lunch at Rock N Brews.  Both were a success as Cameron found several fun gifts for Cora and we each had a wonderful meal while watching basketball and listening to music videos. While Cameron and I were together, we talked about Spring Break, March Madness, IU basketball, his summer trip to Greece and the end of the semester.  It was incredibly nice to have time together before I dropped him off at the Tampa airport.

Cameron called on his drive to Syracuse.  He said that the flight arrived early, his new luggage worked well and the basketball teams that he had been cheering for had won.  The only downside to the trip was the guy who whistled on the plane.  That would have driven me crazy.  Thankfully, Cameron had earphones to block out most of the noise.  

I definitely cried on my way home from the airport but overall did pretty well.  Doug and I had really enjoyed the boys visiting this past month and I knew that I would really miss having company in the house.  Fortunately, I had several upcoming events to look forward to including spending the week of Easter in the Midwest, Meg moving to Orlando, our trip to Key West and Brett' wedding.  All would be a lot of fun and I would need time to rest before our next adventures started.  With all of the ballgames on this weekend, I should have plenty of time to do just that.  

Mrs. Meek

Our family received really sad news this week. Mrs. Meek, our children’s beloved piano teacher, died yesterday. I probably shouldn’t have been as surprise as I was, since she had been in the hospital, but my parents had seen her at church, and I thought she was on the mend. It definitely hit me a lot harder than I thought it would.

I told Cameron in person and then talked with Brett and Meg about it over the phone. Everybody felt the same. They were glad that she was in a better place, but sad to hear the news. After talking with those three, I guess it really shouldn’t have surprised me that I took it as hard as I did. We were at Mrs. Meeks' home almost every week for 17 years. She not only taught Brett, Cameron, and Meg piano, but she also was extremely supportive of all of their endeavors. Anytime they were having a bad day or just needed a friendly ear, she was always ready to listen. This was never more appreciated then after Jeannette died. She took on the role of surrogate grandma very well, especially with Meg.

I think that I was also sad because piano had been such an important part of Jeanette’s life. Losing Mrs. Meek reminded me of how sad it was when Jeanette died. Phil, Doug, and Dan had all taken piano lessons, but none of them were very interested in pursuing it for a long time. Jeanette was incredibly happy that her grandchildren loved the piano enough to learned to play it. She loved listening to the new pieces that Mrs. Meek had taught them.  My favorite piano moment happened when Meg signed up for a piano contest in middle school. She may have earned a silver instead of a gold, but when I heard her play Over the Rainbow in memory of Jeannette, I could barely hold back tears. It was absolutely beautiful.

I think that another reason that I was sad, was because it was a reminder that those days were over. As the tears began, I decided that instead of being sad, I would just be happy that we made those memories together and that they would last a lifetime. I would definitely much rather be sad at the thought of losing Mrs. Meek, than never knowing her at all.

Florida Disc Golf

Before we heard from Nick yesterday, Cameron had told me that he really wanted to play disc golf this week.  I did not know of any local courses and was glad to hear that he found one within twenty minutes of our home.  While Cameron was mapping it out, I realized that I could walk along while he played but probably wouldn't be able to compete with him for twenty-four holes.  He said that he didn't mind, but once we heard that Nick was going to spend the night, we were both happy that Cameron would have someone competitive to take with him.

Cameron has been playing disc golf for several years and had tried all of the courses near Syracuse when we were still living in Indiana.  Each one was different and except for the one at Ox Bow Park, most were pretty open.  Thus, the one they tried today with tall Georgia pines and narrow fairways was a lot more challenging than most.  Even with the difficulty and the extended holes, Nick and Cameron had a great time finishing the round dead even on the day.  I really enjoyed listening to their stories and seeing the pictures that Cameron had taken.  

Once Doug got home tonight, we ordered pizza for the guys from Piesano's.  Nick was surprised that I only got one pie for the three of them until he saw the size of it.  For dessert Doug picked up Crumbl cookie making our dinner complete with plenty for all.  Phil joined us later in the evening for a round of Catan.  In a rare turn of events, I actually won thanks to a lot of fortunate rolls on the dice.  The evening ended with another late night of Yahtzee Hands Down which I obviously enjoyed very much.