Big Excitement in College Football News

 Doug and I had been looking forward to today all week.  It was the afternoon that the college football playoffs rankings would be announced.  We were positive that IU would make the twelve team tournament, but we didn’t know who they would be playing or where they would be.  

Cal and Cameron had several ideas about the seedings with the most plausible being that IU would be playing against Notre Dame.  Because of their predictions, we weren’t surprised at all when the announcement came that the Hoosiers would be in South Bend on Friday December 20th.  We were extremely excited and started to make plans to travel to Northern Indiana that weekend.  Doug and I already had flights scheduled, so all we had to do was look for tickets.  Reality set in shortly after I started looking online.  Notre Dame had already allotted all of their tickets to season ticket holders.  The only seats available were on Seat Geek with the least expensive being $1300 a piece.  I couldn’t believe it and hoped that maybe I was misinformed.  

Within a few hours of the CFP bracket announcement, Cameron and I found out from IU athletics that everything that I had been reading online had been correct.  IU had only been given 3500 tickets with the majority being given to family of the players and coaches.  There were 175 available for students that would be put into a lottery.  Cameron could apply for and hopefully receive one that way.  It was a long shot, but at least a chance.  For me, the news about tickets detracted a little bit from the excitement of getting into the playoffs.  When I really thought about it, however, I just couldn’t believe that our beloved Hoosier team would be participating in the first ever college football playoffs.  

A Great Semester with SAB

Cameron had an end of semester party for Student Athletic Board last night.  He was excited for it and told me about all of the people that he voted to win an award.  It sounded like a fun night for the group.

I talked to Cameron today and was glad to hear that he had enjoyed his evening.  SAB has an awesome experience for him and has helped him grow as a person.  I was also extremely proud to hear that not only had field hockey been recognized for its accomplishments this semester, but that Cameron had won chair of the semester.  I know that he had worked hard this fall and was happy that his efforts were recognized by his peers.

CCW

Last night was the CCW Christmas party and I enjoyed it very much.  I chose to sit at a table where I didn’t know a lot of women with the hope of meeting even more members in our group.  The conversation tonight was a nice, the food was excellent and I loved helping out with the gift exchange.  There was one scary moment as one of the older women passed out during dinner.  Thankfully, EMS arrived quickly and we soon heard that it was low blood sugar and high blood pressure that caused the issue.  She was already feeling better when she got to the hospital.  

As I was driving home from the party last night, I thought a lot about this past year since my last CCW holiday dinner.  I really didn’t know a lot of people last year and felt a little bit overwhelmed.  This year, I knew at least half of the women, was invited to sit at a couple of different tables and was part of the party planning group.  CCW has been a true blessing in my life and I am glad that God led me to it.  

Jeanette’s 80th Birthday

Today would have been Jeanette’s 80th birthday, and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t post anything for it.  It wasn’t because I forgot, but more because it has actually gotten a lot harder without her.  There are so many wonderful things that we would love to share with her, but can’t.  Meg’s wedding, Cal’s success at Plante Moran, Brett’s engagement and Cameron’s involvement with IU athletics.  She would have loved hearing all of it and would have enjoyed being involved in their adult lives.  

This summer, one picture that was extremely important for me to have taken at Meg’s reception was the one of the entire Heinisch family.  It was because I knew that she would have loved that.  She would have been front and center, making sure that everyone was in it and looking good.  It would be hanging in her living room for all to see, and she would have talked about that day with everyone that stopped by to see her.  

I knew that things would change after Jeanette died, but I didn’t realize how much.  Hopefully, she knew how important she was to her children and grandchildren.  They definitely know how important she was to them and miss her very much.

Spotify 2024

Today is one of our family’s favorite days of the year.  It is the day that our top playlists of the year come out on the Spotify music app.  It is so much fun to see what everyone’s top five songs and artists are.  Meg has had The Beach Boys as her number one for the past three years.  Cal has changed dramatically each year.  Brett’s list is eclectic with CCR usually making a place in the top five.  Cameron’s, this year, was filled with mostly 1970s artists.  We both found it funny that Tom Petty and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers were listed separately in his top five. 

Doug and my lists are always interesting as there is a lot of overlapping from using the same Google Home Minis.  His had way more REM on it than he listens to, and my top artist of the year was The Dave Matthew’s Band, one of my least favorite bands of all time.  Thankfully, our top five songs were fairly accurate, and I wasn’t surprised to see that George Harrison had four songs in my top five.  It was funny, however, to find out that I was in the .01% of people that had listened to All Things Must Pass this year.  Overall, it was a great day talking about our songs, artists and music in general.  It is definitely something that our family is passionate about and I am glad that Spotify allows to listen together.

It's All Over

Meg put in her two weeks at Plante Moran today.  It went a lot better than she anticipated.  Human Resources sent her a list of items that she needed to complete before her first day and information about Cobra insurance.  Her partner sent her a message wishing her well and she only heard from one senior about a return that she needed to finish before she left.  

I was very happy to hear that all went well.  I knew that it would and wasn't surprised to hear that the only negative was that some of the people in her start class were already gossiping about Meg leaving.  That was in poor taste but expected in many ways.  I was also glad that she would not have to work another busy season as the last one had really taken a toll on Meg.  I was most proud, however, of the fact that Meg had realized that she needed to get out of the work environment that she was in and that she found a different job before she quit.  The new hours will work a lot better with Nick's schedule and it should be a lot less stressful for Meg.  Overall, it was a very positive way to end her first job in the accounting world.  

IU vs. Purdue

Saturday's IU vs Purdue game was a big one for the Hoosiers.  It was their chance to redeem themselves from their loss in Columbus last weekend.  There was a lot of talk about IU not even being included in the College Football Playoff top twelve team after the Ohio State game, so a win this past weekend was a must.  Some media sources were even saying that if IU beat Purdue by less than three touchdowns that they still might drop out of playoff contention.  Fortunately, the nay sayers had nothing negative to talk about at the end of Saturday night except for the cold, snowy weather in Bloomington.  IU beat the Boilermakers 66-0 putting an exclamation point on the end of a 11-1 regular season.

Doug and I weren't able to watch the entire game because of the symphony in Milwaukee, but Cameron got to see it all up close and personal.  He said that it was an awesome day filled with tailgates and a packed stadium.  It was definitely cold, but he stayed until the end as he wanted to see each and every play.  As an added bonus, he even got to meet IU's president and athletic director.  After the victory there was nothing left to do but celebrate the best season in IU football history and wait for the selection committee to announce the playoff bracket next Sunday.