A Different Kind of Summer

Yesterday, I went to lunch with Robbi and Robin at Chicken Salad Chick.  It has become one of our favorite places to meet and I really enjoy our luncheons.  It gives everyone a time to catch up, ask questions or find out what is going on with CCW.  This week there was a lot to discuss about the women's Catholic group as Robbi was voted in as president at the last general meeting.  Robin and I both have positions on her board and I was very glad to help Robbi get started on the agenda for her first board meeting in June.

There is another reason that I am very glad to be a part of CCW's leadership this year.  For the first time in thirty-one years, I will not have anyone home with me during the summer months.  It didn't really dawn on me how much I really looked forward to summer and having at least one child at home on break until we got back from California.  I cried then and could cry now thinking about it.  Thus, I am glad that I will have friends here to meet for lunch and involvement in a group.  I also thought about attending daily mass more, reading a few books on my list, and planning our next could of trips.  There are several indoor projects that I could work on as well.  The boys text or call often and Meg is close by as well, which I appreciate very much.

Most importantly, I realize that Cameron really needs a job this summer.  Therefore, I will make the best of my situation alone so that he can grow as a person (and make some much needed money.)  Being supportive is one thing that I can offer my adult children, and I am always happy to do that.  

Remote Work

The biggest adjustment for me to Doug's current job is that they frown upon working from home.  I hated the number of hours that Doug put in at Champion, but it was nice that he could decide when he would work remotely.  That allowed us to travel and to go to appointments easily as he would just work around our schedule.  One of the biggest draws to our current home was that it had a built-in desk space near the living room for Doug.  

Thankfully, Doug was able to get approval to work remotely two days during the last week of May.  That will allow him to travel with me to the Midwest to see the boys.  He will also be available at night to help with any projects that we need to do at my parents' home that week.  I really appreciate him asking as it makes our life a lot easier.  I hope that something will change and he will be able to work from home more often, but for now, I am just glad for the days that he did get approval.  

Off to Michigan

Cameron and Cora spent the past three days in Michigan traveling to various cities throughout the state.  I enjoyed listening to them talk about their trip on their way back to Fishers this afternoon.  While the two of them were there they were able to eat at several of our favorite restaurants including New Holland Brewing Company and Founders Brewery.  They also went wine tasting in Traverse City and hiked an impossible dunes at Sleeping Bear Dunes.  I thought that it was awesome that Cora ordered a drink named The Hemingway while I was reading about the famed author’s boyhood summers in the same area.  While in Michigan, they even visited the Grand Rapids high school that Cora’s mom graduated from in the 1990s.  Overall, their trip sounded like the perfect end to a challenging semester and I was very happy to hear that they had a lot of fun and felt that they could officially put their junior year behind them.  

Jerry West and the ABA

During the past few years, I have come to realize that I really don’t care that much about watching the NBA.  Maybe, I never really did, but I definitely followed it more years ago, especially when Cal lived at home. Doug still watches it during the playoff season, but even the that doesn’t interest me.  It is probably because the season is long, there are too many games and I don’t know very many players anymore.  I still listen when Cal, Doug or Cameron tell me about a big game or series, but that’s about all of my involvement anymore.

Because of my lack of interest, I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed two documentaries that we watched recently.  The first was on the American Basketball Association.  I was old enough to remember that there was an ABA league that rivaled the NBA and many of its players, but I couldn’t say if I watched them play in the ABA or NBA as the leagues merged in 1976 when I was only eight.  It was very interesting, however, especially on how the league was run, how it dissolved and what happened to the players and coaches after it ended.

The second documentary was about Jerry West.  I definitely knew very little about him except that his silhouette was used for the NBA logo and that he was involved with the Lakers.  His life story inside and outside of basketball was very fascinating and I liked it just as much as the one on the ABA.  

Basketball was a huge part of my life when I was younger.  It was fun to remember why. Although I do  not revere the sport as much as I did when I was in college, I definitely enjoyed the walk down memory lane.  Even so, I probably still won’t watch the playoffs much.  I’ll let Doug, Cal or Cameron keep me up-to-date and hope that the boys’ bets hit.  

Special Gifts

I never expect gifts on Mother's Day, but I do appreciate how awesome my children are at giving them.  This year was no exception.  The bouquet of tulips from Cal arrived last Wednesday and brightened our kitchen right away.  Meg surprised me with a wonderful homemade present.  She had taken an applique from my wedding dress and made it into a jewelry tray for my dresser.  It was extremely thoughtful and something that I will be able to use daily.  Brett's gift arrived today and I made sure to have it cued up on the record player when Doug got home from work as we had both noticed the latest Peanuts vinyl at the Charles Schultz Museum and really enjoyed listening to it last night.  Cameron purchased my gift while vacationing in Traverse City this week.  I can't wait to open it when I see him Memorial Day weekend.  As much as I have absolutely loved all of the Mother's Day gifts over the years, the best part about the holiday is and always will be being called Mom by the Heinisch four.  That is one gift that I will never grow tired of hearing. 

Mother's Day at the Boardwalk

Doug and I decided to celebrate Mother’s Day by staying at the Boardwalk Inn on their club level. The Boardwalk had become like a second home to us since we had been there so many times over the years with our children. We couldn't believe that we had not been there since our last entire family vacation at Disney World in 2020.  Planning the trip brought back a lot of awesome memories for both Doug and I. Staying there would also be an easy way for Meg to celebrate Mother's Day with us as she wouldn’t have to travel out to Ocala by herself.

Doug and I decided to arrive early this morning so we could enjoy breakfast in the club lounge. Dad got his usual salmon, cream cheese and bagel while I had a fabulous meal with eggs and fruit. We walked over to Epcot after breakfast and did something that we rarely do, went on multiple rides. Soarin' as always was our favorite, but Doug really appreciated Spaceship Earth this time as he was ready for a nap after such a big meal. We had just enough time to grab a drink from England before heading back to the Boardwalk to meet Meg.

Lunch at the club level was really just snacks, so once we rested and enjoyed a few things, we went out to the boardwalk for Meg to get a big pretzel. We then took the boat over to Hollywood Studios. Doug was sure that this would be the time that he beat us at Toy Story Mania, but as always, Meg and I destroyed him. It was really hot walking back and we were glad to take a break and rest in the room before going to dinner. The food tonight was fantastic, and Meg really appreciated that they had her favorite chicken tenders. The drinks at the Boardwalk weren’t quite as good as they were at Animal Kingdom Lodge, but we enjoyed them just the same. The desserts were delicious and we enjoyed hearing the fireworks from our balcony. Overall, it was a wonderful Mother’s Day, and I was really glad that we got to spend it together with Meg at the Boardwalk Inn.

Florida Pint Day

Last week, I saw a post from Hiatus Brewing Company stating that they would be closing indefinitely due to an operations issue.  I was absolutely shocked when I read it and immediately called Doug at work to let him know.  I decided that I wasn't going to be the one to tell Phil and instead let Doug break the news to him as the brewery had become their favorite place to meet for a drink and to catch up on their week.  It was not only convenient being just a little over a mile from our home, but it also had the best craft beer that I had ever tasted.  I didn't always meet the brothers there but had been there enough that the bartender didn't even ask me what I wanted anymore.  To say that we were all disappointed was an understatement.

Thankfully, the brewery didn't stay closed for long and within a few days was back up and running again.  We never found out what the issue was but were glad to see that they had already scheduled an event for "Florida Pint Day" complete with a collector's glass.  I wasn't able to go but Doug and Phil put it on their calendar for last night, and I was very happy to add the new glass to our collection.  Now we had a manatee for me from last year and an alligator for Doug this year.  It was a nice way to end the week and to celebrate Hiatus' "reopening."