Orthodontist Visit

Meg was supposed to visit Dr. Delliner's office on March 23rd for her orthodontist appointment.  It was an important one as they were to decide if she could stop wearing her rubber bands and also what to do about the gaps in her mouth from the removal of her baby teeth.  When they called on March 20th to cancel the appointment, Meg and I were both disappointed that she was so close to going, but had to wait.  Her orthodontal work had already been delayed a month last summer due to an infection in her gums.

We were impressed, however, that the orthodontist's office called during the stay at home order to follow up with Meg through a virtual appointment.  We had to take pictures of her mouth and send them to the doctor so he could evaluate her progress.  It was a little hard to get the pictures as Meg had to put spoons in her mouth to spread apart her cheeks so he could see if her overbite had been corrected.  Meg was thrilled when they called several days later to let her know that she could stop wearing her rubber bands until her next appointment.

We weren't sure when that would be, but once the governor lifted the restrictions on elective procedures the office called immediately to set up an appointment for Meg.  I was incredibly pleased that they made her orthodontal work a priority and we agreed to get her there today at 3:10.  I was going to go with Meg, but I wasn't allowed in the office and would only be sitting in the car waiting on her.  Thus, Meg drove over on her on.  She did text me to let me know when she was in their parking lot.  I replied to the receptionist's text informing them that she was there.  Within three minutes they texted back to let Meg know that she could come into the office.  Once she walked in they immediately took her temperature.  When that was determined to be normal, she then had to use mouthwash before they worked on her braces.  She told me that everyone was wearing protective facial gear and the chairs were all stationed six feet apart.  Meg was completely comfortable with their response to working under COVID-19 restrictions.

Meg called me as soon as she got out of her appointment.  She was thrilled to be done with rubber bands.  They placed springs where her gaps were in order to close them.  Dr.  Dellinger said that at her next appointment in June they will change the springs and put in a new wire to continue the process of closing the gaps.  From that point on, Meg will be on track to be done with her braces in the two year time frame that they promised her when she started this process in January of 2019.  She was very happy to hear that as was I.

Mario Kart, Pokemon Go & iMovie

Cam had a day off from school today and enjoyed the free time.  Bethany's schedule has been different than most other schools.  They have held class via teleconferencing every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9-3 with Wednesdays open for time to catch up on homework and teachers available for help sessions.  Doug and I believe that it has been an awesome way for students to stay connected to Bethany and to continue learning.  Lessons have been meaningful and challenging for the most part.  Hank has even held spirit day contests and every Monday has posted a weekly back to learning motivational video.

Overall, Cam has adjusted to the new schedule well and has stayed on top of his workload.  With that being said, he definitely was ready for a break today and made the most out of it.  As the majority of his homework was finished by lunchtime, he decided to spend the first part of the afternoon unlocking race cars.  I was glad to see that he had two new ones for Funky Kong.  After he finished with the Wii, Cam and I decided to drive through town looking for Pokemon.  He had redownloaded the Pokemon Go app several days ago and I had been bugging him to go out looking for new ones with me.  It was fun just to get out of the house for a little while and in the end well worth the effort as he found a Raichu for the first time.

Cam did devote some time this evening to school work.  He had to make a scavenger hunt for Spanish which I helped him film on iMovie.  It was actually a lot of fun.  He included the guinea pigs for part of it complete with footage of them cramming themselves into their house to avoid him.  I was impressed with how well he read and pronounced the clues in Spanish and had a lot of fun working on the project with him.  Only three more weeks of classes and his Freshmen year will be completed.  It will definitely be one long remembered by all of us.

Pop Culture

When Meg chose her classes for the spring semester she included one on the old testament.  It not only fulfilled one of her general ed credits, but also peaked her interest.  Unfortunately, Meg found out the first week of the semester that the class was not as described and ended up being an indepth study of Judaism.  Thus, Meg had to scramble to find another class.  She was excitd at first to see that there was an opening in pop culture.  She had really wanted to take the class as she had heard a lot of good things about it and felt that it would be a great way to learn about pop culture over the decades.  

Meg was surprised when she went to her first class period and found out that it would revolve around science fiction.  That was definitely not in the class description, but she decided to stick it out as she needed the credits and it would at least be easier than the old testament.  During her first month of pop culture they watched the movies Alien and Terminator.  Doug was happy to hear that and enjoyed talking to her about the films.  Meg noticed that the discussions in class revolved around sexism in the films and women empowerment.  Since both movies were filmed in the 1980s with different expectations in screenwriting than today, Meg didn't feel that it was relevant to today.

The class continued with a science fiction theme and Meg got used to the discussions.  She acutally even talked about liking the movie Terminator.  Late in February all of that changed, however, when the topics turned toward lesbian rights.  All of the videos, movies and readings were dominated by that theme as well as the class discussions.  Meg was extremely disappointed as the topic of pop culture seemed to have been pushed aside for media involving vivid sexual encounters in multiple formats.  Meg has had several homosexual friends and has never discrimanted against any of them.  She understood that their feelings and needs in life were the same as hers.  In saying that, however, she was extremely disapponted that the focus of her pop culture class would now be on gay rights.  She wanted a broader study of culture in America, not just one small segment of it.

When Meg first told me of her disappointment in the class, I encouraged her to give it time.  Maybe this would be a small portion of it and soon it would turn to something more interesting.  I also did not completely believe that the videos were quite as bad as she claimed.  Since she has been home I have had time to watch several of them with her and can now verify the strange, sexual content that she has had to endure.  Over the weekend, Doug was even exposed to a video called "Dirty Computer" where lesbians minds were wiped of all memories and songs about vaginas were highlighted.  At that point we just threw our hands up and encouraged her to do her best to finish it the class as well as she could.  Thankfully, since it went to an online learning format it was a lot easier to earn A's on the assignments.  Nevertheless, Meg will be extremely glad to be done with pop culture next week.  

Surprise Visitors

It was a typical "quarantine" afternoon for Meg, Cameron and I.  They were working on their e-learning assignments and I was paying bills.  All of a sudden we heard a knock on the back door.  At first I thought that it was Cameron.  A lot of times he puts his hammock out in the backyard and sits in it while he completes his match assignement.  As I got up to open the door, all I could see was a weeding claw tapping on the window.  I knew it wasn't Cameron, but thought that Roger was in our backyard.  I had been out weeding in the front yard the other day and figured he had an easier way for me to do it.  

Instead, we were all shocked to see Grandpa Cutes standing on the back patio.  He and Grandma Jane had decided to go mushroom hunting in our lot.  Their outcome was the same as in previous years, finding nothing to speak of except for golf balls, but Grandpa did score big, however, locating one of our old bocce balls in the woods.  After they were done, Cam, Meg and I sat at the back table and visited with them from a safe social distance.  It was nice to catch up and Cam and Meg enjoyed telling them all of my crazy "Lysol" stories.  

The Half Blood Prince

When we picked up the book Harry Potter and the Cursed Child several years ago at a midnight release party at Barnes & Noble I made plans to read it once the Heinisch children had finished it.  I told them that I wanted to reread all of the seven books in the Harry Potter series first.  There was so much that I didn't remember from the books and thought that the Cursed Child would be even better if I refreshed my memory.  My goal, unfortunately, kept getting pushed off for other projects.  With all of the down time recently due to the stay at home order, however,  I finally had time to work on my original reading goal from several years ago.  I picked back up where I left off with my second reading of the Harry Potter series and yesterday finished number six, "Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince."

I remember when I first read the book a decade ago that I was completely disappointed in it.  I thought that the first 3/4 of it was boring and a little comfusing.  I was also extremely disappointed that Dumbledore died and was in shock that Professor Snape was the villian that Harry always proclaimed him to be.  Reading it the second time, however, was a completely different experience as I had the knowledge of how the series would end. I was still sad, probably even more so, that Dumbledore died, but knowing that Snape would be vindicated in book seven made the Half Blood Prince so much more enjoyable.  I was also fascinated by the small details throughout the story.  The support characters and their backstory added to the enjoyment of the book.

Tonight Doug and I started the movie that was based upon the 6th Harry Potter book.  Neither of us had seen it in quite some time.  I was especially interested in watching it after just finishing the book. I was surprised at first by how different it was from what I had read.  The plot was the same but the details had been changed greatly.  Characters were removed from the story altogether and the movie-goer was allowed in on the secrets of the death eaters well before the reader ever was.  It didn't ruin the movie for me, but I did find it fascinating that the screenwriter changed so much of the book.  I wasn't sure if it was to shorten it for a film version or to keep the production on budget.  Either way, I really enjoyed both versions of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and can't wait to finish the series with the Deathly Hollows.

You've Got to Watch . . .

Cal sent Brett, Doug and I a text yesterday listing all 52 movies that he had watched since the stay at home order went into place ranking them from best to worst.  Brett instantly replied that he couldn't believe that Monty Python's Holy Grail was at 47 on the list.  Doug was more disappointed that Blazing Sadles was number 51.  I agreed with Brett that the Holy Grail should be higher, but was glad to see the placement of Blazing Sadles.  Much to Doug's dismay I had never liked that movie.

It was fun to read Cal's list and debate his picks versus ours.  He called us later in the evening to talk about his favorite movies.  He had been trying to persuade Doug to watch The Other Guys.  Cal thought it was a funny Will Ferrell movie and felt that Doug would enjoy it as well.  Once Doug finally agreed to watch it this weekend Cal turned to his favorite topic of the week, the Michael Jordan documentary.  He thought that it was fantastic, although he was a little surprised that both Doug and I felt that Jordan was the best player of all time, even over LeBron, albeit not our favorite NBA superstar.  He ended the phone call by exacting another promise.  This one came from Cameron as he finally agreed to watch the Jordan documentary even though he didn't have a lot of interest in it.  He knew nothing about Michael Jordan or the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s.  He promised Cal to watch it tomorrow moring, however.  I figured that Cam would relent in the end, but was more surprised when I found out later that Cal had even talked Brett into watching it.  Meg was the only Heinisch holdout.  She told Cal that she would definitely watch it once Cal finished her favorite musical, Hairspray.  It will be interesting to see who caves first.

Quarantine Crafting

Several years ago Cameron bought a latch hook that he really wanted to make.  He had just finished a panda one that he made into a pillow.  His new lighthouse, however, was triple the size and took a lot more work to complete.  Therefore, after a few rows, he decided to give up on it.  I had gotten it out several other times for him to work on if he wanted to, but he just wasn't interested.  Since I had finished all of my organizing projects in the first two weeks of the stay at home order, I asked him if I could give it a try.

I had not worked on a latch hook since I was in high school except to show Cameron how to do it.  It was as easy as I remembered except for distinguishing the differents shades of green, blue and red yarns.  Once I figured out the key I was able to make a lot of progress.  It was definitely slow going as this was by far the biggest latch hook that I had ever attempted.  I worked on it for several hours a night for three to four weeks and finally completed all of the yarn work Wednesday night.  I loved how it looked, but wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the lighthouse once I finished it.  I searched through several ideas on Pinterest and found one that gave directions for making a latch hook into a wall hanging.  It took longer than I thought that it would to whip stitch the sides, but last night I was finally able to finish the edging.  Meg and I found the perfect place for it on my bedroom wall and I proudly showed it to Doug when he got home from work today.

Sophomore Registration

Today both Meg and Cam registered for their sophomore years.  They each asked me to be involved in the process since they could not meet face to face with their advisors this spring.  It was strange to be filling out a class schedule without knowing if either will be physically returning to their actual schools this fall.  Doug and I did talk before Meg and Cam started to work on their fall plans as to what was the best option for our family.  We have never complained about the costs of a private high school education as we have all felt that Bethany has been far superior to our expereinces with public school.  We did give pause, however, into putting that much money into online schooling if Bethany has to continue with e-learning in the fall.  The three options we came up with were to keep him enrolled in Bethany, homeschool Cam or switch back to the Wawasee school system.  In the end we easily decided to continue Cam's education at Bethany.  Schools will open at some point and a return to the life that he enjoyed with all of Bethany's added learning opportunities was of upmost importance to us.  Thus, Cam and I filled out his Google form today for his sophomore year adding in requests for Ceramics, Law Education, Nutrition, Computer Design, Spanish 2 and Anatomy to his Math, English, Science and Bible requirements.  He was excited about the prospects of taking those classes next year.

The decision to keep Meg on her accounting path at IU was also an easy one for all of us.  The Kelley  Business School has worked well with the students and for the most part her classes have continued as normal.  Some have become easier and others a little bit more challenging, but she has found resources to help her study and has stayed committed to her education.  She's heard from several friends that they will take a gap year and work next fall if IU Bloomington classes continue online.  Meg has had no interest in that and today registered for her sophomore business requirements and added in a few classes of fun as well including fairy tales and group exercise   E-learning has not been what either Meg or Cam has wanted, but overall we have been impressed with how well they have adapted to the change.  Nevertheless we are extremely hopeful that this semester will be the last of it and they can return to the "normal" school lives in August.

Some Days are Easier than Others

The stay at home order in Indiana has changed our life quite a bit these past seven weeks.  We decided from the beginning to take it seriously and limit our interactions with others.  Thus, for the most part only Doug has been out and about in public.  It has worked well for us and has made social distancing a lot easier for our family.  For the most part, Meg, Cam and I have handled staying at home pretty well.  We've kept ourselves busy and have had very few days of feeling overwhelmed by our self imposed isolation.

Today, however, wasn't the easiest one for me.  I started feeling anxious at lunchtime and couldn't calm down.  I was an absolute wreck when Doug called and it took me quite awhile to figure out what was really bothering me.  I realized that all of the news reports about ending the stay at home order were becoming overwhelming.  I did my best to stay away from them, but headlines seemed to be everywhere I looked.  Georgia had decided to lift its stay at home order this week which set out hundreds of articles discussing the safety of this approach.  The debate left me wondering how the end of the stay at home order will work, if it was the correct decision, or what would happen if COVID-19 returned.  The more I thought about it, the more I anxious I became.  I finally decided that I wouldn't be able to come up with an answer as no one really knew what would happen once life returned to "normal."  Since I couldn't control the hows, whats and whys of this return, I finally realized that I could control my own behavior.  Therefore, I actually didn't have to change a lot from our self imposed quarantine and could ease back into the real world at my own pace.  We could still go to the grocery store once a week, run errands first thing in the morning and avoid large gatherings.  We didn't need a state order to make that decision for us.  Somehow over the past two months I completely forgot that.

Was It Here Earlier?

There was an article that originated by a West Virginia doctor in mid-March that stated that he felt that COVID-19 had actually reached the US well before it was documented in China.  He said that he had had several cases of a flu-like illness that were worse than the normal influenza A or B and that lasted longer.  We thought his article was interesting as several members of the Heinisch family were sick this winter with flu-like symptoms and took longer than normal to recover from the illness.  Cam bout was before Christmas during finals week.  He was miserable.  Doug had the same symptoms which started just after the holidays and Cal missed almost a week of classes with
"the flu" when we got back from Disney World in January.  Meg and several of her friends also felt ill during that same period.

In January everyone joked that maybe it was the Cornonavirus.  We didn't know much about the virus or how widespread that it would becom.  Now we acutally wonder if it was more than just the seasonal flu.  A new report came out this week that dates the first death from COVID-19 in the US as February 6th.  That would mean that the virus was definitely here in January.  We would all be interested in having some of the Heinisch members tested once the new antibody test becomes available in our area.  Maybe it was just the flu, or a bad headcold, but maybe not.  Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Movie Night

Cal had decided to order a free trial of Starz for a week so that he could see the movie Once Upon Time in Hollywood.  He gave us his login information, so that we could watch it as well.  It wasn't his favorite movie, but he thought we might like it since Doug was a big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio.  We started it Sunday night before the Michael Jordan documentary began.  When we turned it over to ESPN I wasn't sure that we would acutally finish the movie.  It wasn't bad, it was just a little boring.  Cal texted me during the day today and said to keep trying as the second half was a lot better.  Brett agreed.

Even though the boys had encouraged us to keep watching, Doug and I were pleasantly surprised with how much better the movie was once we restarted.  It even had a cameo of one of my favorite actors, Luke Perry in it.  Brett had told us that the main character and his stunt double were based on the real life relationship of Burt Reynolds and his best friend which put a new perspective on the movie for us as well.  Leonaro DiCaprio and Brad Pitt's story was also intertwined with the Manson murders of Sharon Tate.  Since I had read the book Helter Skelter, I knew I had to brace myself for a violent ending.  Instead I was absolutely surprised with what happened in the last twenty minutes.  It had an unexpected twist complete with a flame thrower scene.  I still had to close my eyes due to the extreme violence, but I didn't care as the ending was a lot happier than the true life story.  I wish that it could have ended that way in 1969 as well.  

Thankful for the Chef in Our Family

I read a meme several weeks ago that at the end of the stay at home order that "half of us would become fantastic cooks and the other half would become alcoholics."  That resonated with me, not because I was worried that we would become drunks, but more because I realized that Doug would now have time to cook all that he wanted.  He has told me several times over the years that if he could pick any job besides being an accountant that he would have been a chef.  We have appreciated all that he has cooked for us these past six weeks even the nights when we have been "guinea pigs" for his experiments.

Since Cam won both of the "dinner of your choice" Easter egg prizes last Sunday,  Doug asked him to plan this weekend's meals.  Cam thought about it for a couple of days and finally came up with some of his favorites from our tailgate meals this past fall.  Friday night's dinner choice was queso dip and Red Lobster biscuits.  Sunday evening we were treated to pepperoni pinwheels and buffalo chicken dip.  Both meals were fantastic and a diversion from our traditional menu.  They even reminded us of our weekends in Bloomington during IU's football season.  Between those two meals and Meg's request for mostaciolli Saturday night, we almost forgot that the restaurants in town were closed.  Doug's cooking has definitley been one of the best parts of our self imposed quarantine.

Colonel Mustard in the Library with the Knife

During our self imposed quarantine we haven't had anyone visit us or gone to anyone's homes.  In fact Meg, Cam and I hadn't been anywhere except to take a walk around our neighborhood.  Nick decided to follow our example and quaratine at his house as well.  Because of his decision, we have felt comfortable having him over every two weeks or so.  Meg has appreciated seeing him and we've enjoyed the diversion from our daily routine.  During today's visit, Meg and Nick took a walk down to Grandma Jane's and visited her and Grandpa Cutes from a safe distance.  Everyone enjoyed the visit and they were still able to make it home in time for dinner which included Meg's new favorite dish, mostaciolli.

Once the kitchen was cleaned up Meg suggested a game of Clue.  Nick let all of us know right away that he was "really good at the game."  We were a little skeptical after Ticket to Ride, but were definitely up for the challenge.  Since Brett wasn't here to join us, Cam decided to try his strategy and not use a paper ballot to keep track of the rooms, suspects and murder weapons.  It had worked well for Brett in the past as none of us had ever beaten him.  Although not by conscious choice, Doug decided to follow suit and try one of Brett's strategies as well by guessing early.  We were all surprised during Doug's third turn when he moved to the library and announced that his final guess was Colonel Mustard in the Library with the Knife.  I actually gasped when he said it as I knew that Cam had Colonel Mustard.  As he picked up the cards to check his guess, we all started laughing.  Unfortunately for Doug his new strategy did not work, and we all laughed even harder later when it was revealed that Nick had had the library.  It was hard not to pick on Doug the rest of the night as it was definitely the funniest moment of our time at home these past six weeks.  Cameron did eventually win by correctly guessing Professor Plum in the Hall with the Knife, therefore proving that one of Brett's strategies in the game did actually work.

And the Beat Goes On

Today the governor of Indiana announced that the stay at home order would be extended until May 1st.  None of us were shocked to hear the news.  In fact Doug and I were a little relieved.  COVID-19 has not been as devistating to the health care industry as first thought, but two more weeks seemed appropriate for social distancing to make a difference.  We also felt that it was great news that Governor Holcomb stated that he would have a plan for how the state of Indiana could safely lift the stay at home order sometime in May.  That would really help the economic strain that everyone has been under due to the quarantine.

We told Meg and Cam the news during dinner tonight.  They weren't surprised by it either.  The topic then turned to what we would like to do once the stay at home order was lifted.  None of us were ready to travel, eat out or spend a lot of time shopping just yet, but it was fun to talk about what we really missed by being at home.  Number one on Cam's list was eating out, even if it was just getting take out.  He picked Mad Anthony's as his first stop.  Meg missed her friends and social activity the most, but in terms of eating out she felt that Culvers, Portillos or Chick-Fil-A would all be safe places to use the drive thru once we start circulating in the real world once again.  Doug and I were most interested in getting back to Bloomington, seeing the boys and ordering Mother Bears.  No matter where or when we order take out or what we do first, at least there does seem to be an end in sight.    

Brett's Movie Suggestion

Brett had seen the movie Lighthouse in theaters during the fall.  He had asked me to watch it when it came out on video.  I agreed immediately and was actually looking forward to it as it had been nominated for an academy award, got a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and was labled a psychological thriller.  It even starred Willem Dafoe, so I thought that it would be perfect for Doug and I.

Brett told me last weekend that he wanted to watch the movie again this Thursday, his day off from Bell Trace.  That worked into our schedule as well and I rented it from Vudu today.  Brett watched it this afternoon and Doug and I started the movie at 8 p.m.  By 8:45 Doug and I were asking each other questions such as, "Where do you think this is going? and "Do you think this movie is weird?"  I even heard Doug exclaim, "Oh, that's disgusting."

I texted "This movie is so bizarre" to Brett at 9:20.  He said that he likes bizarre.  I knew then the answer to my next question, "Does it get any better?" before I even sent the text.  Lighthouse was definitely one of the worst movies that either Doug and I had ever seen.  I ranked only Beloved by Oprah Winfrey lower on my all time worst movies list.  Doug felt The English Patient topped it as all time worst, but I couldn't even go that far.

We called Brett as soon as it was over to list our grievances.  Meg joined us on the call as she had unfortunately walked in on the most bizarre and inappropriate scence of the evening.  Brett listened to our complaints and then laughed.  He said that he never promised us a good thriller.  He instead promised us a thriller that he enjoyed.  We got a kick out of that.  I should have known when Brett was picking the movie for our entertainment pleasure that I would definitley be in for something as far away from normal as possible.  Doug, Meg and I laughed about that the rest of the night.  The best part was that for a brief moment it almost felt as though Brett was quarantined with us.  That made watching the movie worth it, even if it was downright awful.

In Short Supply

It has been interesting to see what demand and supply during the stay at home order has done to our shopping list.  I had expected shortages, but some of the items missing have surprised me.  When there was a run on toilet paper and cleaning supplies at the beginning of March, I wasn't shocked, especially since the news at first was scary and everyone was afraid of being quaratined for two or more weeks.  Even after a month the lack of these important items on the shelves hasn't really improved.  The next group of foods that found their way on the short supply list included ground beef, milk and eggs.  None of these really surprised us either, but their shortage did make it more challenging in planning our dinner menu.  We adapted, however, and ate more chicken and brats for awhile.

Tonight's items missing on the shelf were more frustrating as they were unexpected.  We had gotten used to not having everyone's favorite frozen Chinese meals available, but the absense of diet coke and diet cranberry were frustrating.  Those were two staples on Doug's weekly shopping trips and must haves at the Heinisch home.  We will adapt to the new shortages and hope that Grandma Jane can at least find some of our favorite pop at Dollar General on her early morning trip this week.  No matter how much we miss some of our beloved foods, we will try not to complain.  Giving them up has been a minor inconvenience compared to those who have lost their jobs or who have become ill during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wii

One item that has helped make our self quarantine a lot easier for everyone has been the Wii U.  It's familiar to all of us as we have had a Wii in our house since they first came on to the market in 2006.  In fact we have played this gaming system so much over the years that we have had to replace at least three consoles, various cords, multiple remotes and a few charging cables as well.  Both sets of grandparents to the Heinisch children even bought a system of their own to use with their grandchildren and enjoyed it just as much as we have.

Therefore, I wasn't surprised when one item on Meg's to-do list when she first came home for her extended Spring Break was to enlist Cam's help in conquering a Super Mario game that they had tried to beat years ago.  Once they accomplished their mission, Doug and I then joined them for rounds of Swap Meet and Mario Kart.  Not only have these games given us a way to pass time, but have also provided positive family bonding time during the stay at home order.  Hearing about all of the fun that we had been having, Brett even decided to get out his old Wii and use it once his Lenten promise was over.  In fact he chose three Wii games that were Meg and Cam's for his Easter gift this year.  His siblings were more than happy to donate them to him and I found a new contactless way to ship them to Bloomington.

I know that a lot of other families prefer different gaming systems.  We do own several of those and both Brett and Cam use the PS4 quite a bit, but overall the Heinisch family favortie has always been the Wii.  I am extremely thankful for it whenever we sit down to family activity night.  I may be the worst Mario Kart racer ever, but that doesn't mean that I don't have fun every time I pick Funky Kong to lead the way (that is until I fall off a cliff or run into a wall.)

Lenten Promises

Doug has never promoted giving up something for Lent to the Heinisch children.  Instead he has always stressed moderation throughout the year as the best way to honor the sacrifices of Jesus Christ.  Meg and Brett, however, decided a long time ago to join the Catholic tradition by giving up something they cherished for Lent each season.  This year Meg gave up Tik-Tok on social media.  She thoroughly enjoyed the video app while at IU, but thought that it was interferring with her study time.  She told me a few times during the past seven weeks that she really didn't miss the videos that much and was glad to have spent her time working on classes instead.

Brett, however, struggled with his Lenten promise this year, especially during the middle weeks of March.  He had decided to give up playing video games for Lent.  He felt that they were too distracting and wanted to focus on other interests.  It was easy for him at first, but then the stay at home order was issued by the Governor.  Thus, Brett had way more free time than he had planned during Lent.  He and I had talked about his options.  First, he could continue his promise and stay away from video games for the entire season.  Second, he could allow himself to play games on Sundays only as that day had traditionally been deemed as a free day from Lenten promises.  Lastly, he could throw in the towel and say that he tried his best.  I was proud of the fact that he chose the first option. It wasn't always easy for him to fill his time, but thankfully his job, a challenging puzzle, reading and writing all kept him busy enough through the long weeks of social distancing.  I talked to Brett tonight and he said that he was up early Easter morning to play an hour or so of Mafia 3 on the PS4 before work and then was back at it once he got home.  By the end of the day Monday, however, he was actually ready to go back to reading and writing.  The break made him realize that he didn't miss video games as much as he thought that he would and had a whole lot of other things going on in his life that he would prefer to do instead.  I was very impressed by that.

Easter Firsts

Easter was filled with firsts for the four of us in the Heinisch home today.  First, we used plastic eggs instead of real eggs for the annual Easter egg hunt.  Second, we watched virtual mass online instead of going to church.  Lastly, Cameron finished first in the Easter egg hunt.  He didn't brag, but he was definitley happy with his win.  Meg claimed it was due to the fact that they were hunting for plastic eggs this year.  Either way it was a fun morning.  I put candy in some eggs and slips of paper in others with prizes such as $5 Amazon bucks or pick family night actitivy written on them.  Meg said that she felt like she had acutally won the egg hunt when she received both "week off from cleaning the pigs" prizes.  I really liked listening to mass online.  The priest gave a wonderful homily on hope.  It was the perfect message for today.

  

This afternoon was filled with taking the pigs outside, going on a walk and finishing our Neuschwanstein Castle puzzle.  It was definitley harder than the ones that we had been completed a few weeks ago, but both Doug and I enjoyed working on it.  Doug fixed homemade pizzas for dinner which were delicious.  My Mom dropped off a beautiful bouquet of daffodils from her yard for us dining room table centerpiece.Cal texted that he had spent the day watching movies.  His favorites were Road to Perdition and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  He was happy to find out that he earned an 89 on his Audit test.  That class was Doug's least favorite at Kelley.  Brett called after work.  He was incredibly proud of fullfilling his Lenten promise of 40 days and nights without playing video games and celebrated by starting Mafia 3 on the PS4 this morning.  He also planned to watch the Pope's Easter mass and finish a blog post.  Doug and I ended the evening watching an Alfred Hitchcock marathon on YouTube TV.  It was a relaxing way to end our three day weekend.

A New Normal

My Mom asked me today if I was anxious to get out.  In all honesty I really haven't been too anxious about getting back out in circulation again.  The fear of getting exposed to COVID-19 has changed my thoughts on shopping and going out to eat.  Our self imposed quarantine over the last three weeks has allowed us to come up with a routine and so far we haven't become tired our new normal.

Doug has really been the only one leaving the house.  He goes to work every day and does our grocery shopping once a week.  Meg, Cam and I have a shopping list on Google Docs that we add to as we run out of essentials or think of meals that we would like to try for dinner.  Doug said that all he has really missed since the stay at home order went into place were big pops and Friday morning basketball.  He has definitely outdid himself on meals and the four of us have enjoyed his cooking.

Meg, Cam and I have stayed at home since March 20th.  We make it outside as much as possible on nice days, but do not venture too far from our yard except to take walks.  Meg and Cam went to the high school once to play tennis with Doug, but Cam wasn't a fan over being out with the masses, so he will probably just stick to driveway basketball instead.  They both miss seeing their friends, but have put FaceTime to great use these past few weeks.  We have played less wii than I thought that they would.  Schoolwork has kept both of them busy.  Cam also started playing Mine Craft on the PS4 again and has connected with Nick on several occassions while playing.  I've been filling my downtime with movies, reading and latchhook.  Therefore overall, staying at home hasn't been as big of a change as I thought it would be.  No one has really complained and I am proud that we all just decided to make the best of it.

Spring Break & Social Distancing with Cameron

For the last several years Cameron has suggested that we stay at home during one of his school breaks.  Out of all of the Heinisch children he has traveled the most and therefore hasn't pushed as hard to get out of the house when he has had down time.  This year he got his wish as the Indiana Stay at Home order changed our Spring Break travel plans.  I have enjoyed having him at home this staycation and have learned a few things along the way.

Ten Things I Learned From Our Spring Break at Home with Cameron

10.  The more Meg asks Cam to shave, the less likely he is to do it.

9.    Once Cam develops a shot, he will dominate Doug at driveway basketball.

8.    School work isn't that exciting no matter where you are doing it.

7.    IU has now successfully recruited the last three Indiana Mr. Basketballs.

6.    Cleaning your room and making your bed is optional.

5.    If you build a billards table in Mine Craft, you don't actually get to play pool with your friends.

4.    Social Distancing is a lot easier when you're an introvert.

3.    Cam wouldn't pick up an unidentified Easter egg in our yard as he wasn't sure what would be in      
       it.  Thus, proving he is the biggest rule follower of all of the Heinisch children - not even close.

2.    Social Distancing would have been way worse had it happened during football season.

1.    The worst part about the stay at home order is not being able to go to Bloomington.

Just in Time for Doug's Three Day Weekend

Several weeks ago we ordered five new 1000 piece puzzles from White Mountain Puzzle.  At the time we thought that they'd be delivered within a few days and we would be able to keep busy during the two week stay at home order for Indiana.  The COVID-19 outbreak in Connecticut, however, delayed the shipping process and we did not recieve the puzzles until today.  Since we were now under a stay at home order in our own state until April 20th and today was the start of Doug's three day weekend, it actually ended up being the perfect time for our package to arrive.

We decided to start the Neuschwanstein Castle first.  It was the one that we were most excited to receive.  We had "flown" over the castle multiple times while "hang gliding" on Soarin' at EPCOT and it was one of the few homes that we felt rivaled the beauty of the Biltmore.  I found out that it was the home of King Ludwig II and was built in the mountains of Schwangau, Germany in the 1880's.  All of us said that we would love to visit it one day, but since that was unlikely, working on the puzzle was the next best thing.  Doug and I started tonight.  It will be a tough one, but we should have plenty of time to work on it.

Atmo and Rizzo - Soaking Up the Sun

The last several days have just been beautiful here.  We have all taken advantage of the warm weather by spending as much time in the sunshine as possible.  Meg and I have taken walks, Doug and Cam have played multiple games of basketball and today the guniea pigs even got in on the action.  Normally, we take them out when we change their cage, but as the forecast for Sunday looked bleak, Meg and Cam took Rizzo and Atmo outside.  They left the cage top in the house and decided to let the pigs "roam" the backyard.

Meg and Cam pulled up chairs close to where the pigs were enjoying their grass snack, so they didn't "run away." None of us were too worried about that as they usually do not venture farther than a few inches from one another.  The brothers were out for close to a half hour when all of a sudden Rizzo made a beeline for the pine trees at the side of the yard.  We couldn't believe it as neither one had been adventerous before today.  Cam decided to follow him instead of bringing him back right away.  In the end it wasn't much of a trip, but Rizzo did get to explore some new parts of the backyard.  Atmo never even noticed and just kept eating as much grass as his stomach could hold.  Meg pointed out to me later that evening that neither guinea pig had moved much since we brought them back inside.  Guess that was there way of letting us know that they enjoyed their afternoon

Control

This past week has been a stressful one for me.  No matter what I do, I just can't seem to shake the anxiety that COVID-19 has produced in me.  It reminds me a lot of when I fly.  I am an extremely nervous passenger, although no one would notice as I appear to be extremely calm.  On the inside, however, my stomach is tied in knots.  I realize that it is irrational to worry about plane crashing on a commercial flight, espeically with the amount of data proving the safety of flying.   A couple of bad experiences with turbulence over the years, however, has left me feeling uneasy.  I have learned how to deal with the stress that riding in a plane causes me by tracking my panic level on a scale of 1-10 every fifteen minutes.  I have gotten so much better at flying over the past few years, that I do not always remember to keep track of my anxiety anymore.

Last night I realized that I could no longer feel as anxious as I was about COVID-19.  Keeping anxiety in tow on a two hour flight was one thing, but to do it daily during our quarantine had left me exhausted.  Thus, this morning I started to think about what I could control during this pandemic, and to stop the focus on what I had no ability to change.  After a lot of introspection I came up with ways to curb my anxiety.  I found Bible verses to study, a daily project to accomplish, a craft to keep me focused on, a series to watch, and a list of what we could do as a family to remain healthy now and when the stay at home order ended in Indiana.  By lunchtime I was already feeling a lot better and by the time Doug got home I could hear the world Coronavirus without panicking.  I was very happy about that.

The Woman in White

I started reading The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins last fall.  I had found the book in the "great classics" section at Barnes & Noble.  I was fascinated with it as it was renowed as the first mystery novel.  The author was a personal friend of Charles Dickens and the information that I read stated that The Woman in White was more popular in the 1860s than all of Dickens' novels combined.  I could not believe that I had never heard of it and couldn't wait to read "one of the best sensation novels of all time."

The first third of the book was a little slow and I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it through it.  It wasn't that it was boring, just a lot of time was spent introducing characters.  All of that changed around page 240.  Plot twists, lovers separated by an arranged marriage and a mysterious woman in white held my interested and the pace of my reading picked up quite a bit.  I finished the book last night, reading non-stop for several hours to do so.  It definitely was suspenseful and I enjoyed trying to solve the mystery along with the main character.  I only found one part a little frustrating.  The windbag in the story took up fifteen pages explaining his role in the deception, even though the reader already knew what he had done.  I wasn't surprised by the long narrative as the "Count" was pompous in the story, so it only made sense that he would take up a huge part of the ending.  Nevertheless, I was glad to have the novel to read during our self-imposed quaratine and can't wait to watch the series on PBS.

Groundhog's Day in Real Life

I really don't get on the internet much lately except to post on my blog or to do our banking.  That way I don't get anxious about the news regarding COVID-19.  This meme showed up today, however,  and made me laugh.  It really does feel like we're stuck in the middle of the movie Groundhog's Day.  Just like Bill Murray for about thirty seconds in the morning when I wake up every day, I forgot all about being stuck in a never ending cycle of reliving the same day over and over.  We have made the best of being quaratining in the Heinisch home and I have enjoyed spending a lot of time with with Cam, Meg and Doug, but just as in the movie the unknowing of how or when this will all be over has been the hardest part.  Now if we could punch our favorite insurance agent, build an ice sculpture or drive off a cliff with a groundhog without repercussions, that would make all of this a lot more interesting.

A Small Celebration of Birthdays

Today we had a small celebration for Meg and Nick's birthday.  He hadn't been able to come to see her on her big day since Cal had just returned from his abbreviated Spring Break trip to Florida.  We thought it was best to quarantine Cal for fourteen days since we weren't sure if he had been exposed to anything before he made it home.  Meg was sad about that but was also grateful that we agreed to celebrate not only her 19th birthday today, but Nick's 20th as well.

The weather wasn't quite as beautiful today as yesterday, but everyone still enjoyed the day.  Cam worked on Minecraft and then played wii Sports Resort with Nick and Meg.  They spent their time watching movies and working on friendship bracelets.  Doug and I started Rear Window while he worked on filing sales tax returns for multiple states.  Meg chose lasagna for dinner and Cam made brownies for dessert.  Once we were all finished, Meg and Nick opened their gifts.  Meg's revolved around our postponed trip to Disney World.  She didn't mind as she knew that she would be able to use them again soon.  She was glad to finally have a suitcase of her own.  Nick really liked the hammock that we gave him as well.  The rest of the night was a quiet one and once Nick headed home Doug, Cam and I watched Semi-Pro.  The guys really liked it and I got a lot of time to work on my latch hook.  It may have been a quiet birthday celebration, but it was still a nice way to spend the day.

Finally, Some Sunshine

Although Meg, Cam and I have been able to get outside almost every day this week, it was really nice to finally have some sunshine today.  It didn't arrive until 4 p.m. but we all took advantage of it as soon as the rays shone through the clouds.  Meg and Nick went for a walk and Cam and I played ladder golf.  Once Doug got home he joined the rest of us enjoying the beautiful weather by playing basketball with Cam and building a bonfire.  For a little while it felt like a normal day without anyone worrying about the COVID-19 or being quaratined.  Since Governor Holcomb announced that we will now be practicing social distancing until April 30th and school has been cancelled through the end of the year, we are all hopeful of having for more days like today.

Effects of the Coronavirus Quarantine

Since Doug works at a company that manufactures a healthcare product he was receiving information about coronavirus ahead of most.  We took the threat seriously and prepared for to be quaratined for two weeks.  As a CFO Doug also warned me that with social distancing and declaring some businesses non-essential, the economy would take a hit as well.  He felt that even though some companies would  remain open, most would still have to make cost cutting measures as well.  Thus, I wasn't surprised when Doug confirmed today that we would lose quite a bit of income over the next three months.  That news along with the Edward Jones statement that arrrived in the mail today left for a depressing afternoon.

As the extra income pays directly for all of the Heinisch children's tuition, I started to look at the budget to see what we could cut or change so that we could still cover those expenses.  I explained to everyone that we would need to really monitor our spending over the next few months and they were all on board.  Thankfully, Brett has remained working and doesn't need anything from us right now.  Cal will be doing likewise this fall which will help especially if the quaratine lasts longer than April 30th.  Overall, we realize that we are in a better situation to handle this economic crisis than the one in 2008.  We also feel extremely fortunate that Doug has retained his job when over 6,000,000 others filed for unemployment this past month.  Most of all we are thankful for our health.  That's the most important thing to us right now.  Everything else will take work its self out eventually.

Missing My Grandma!

Last Friday would have been my Grandma's 99th bithday.  I was sad not have spent it with her, but thankful for all of the time that I did spend with her over the years.  My Grandparents were a big part of my life and I miss them both tremendously.   Over these past few weeks I have wondered what they would have to say about the current pandemic and self quarantine measures that the world has taken in response.  I thought about my Grandpa's days in the army during World War II.  I wondered if this time period felt anything like that era did for him.  Like so many times in my life I missed them and listening to their stories.  As they have been the topic of many of my blog posts, I decided that the next best thing to talking with them would be to reread some of the memories that I had written about them.  I penned the one below recently and it has quickly become one of my favorites.

I think about my Grandparents almost daily.  They meant the world to me.  They provided support and strength to me throughout my childhood especially after my brother died.  Their home was a safe haven to relax and put my worries away for awhile. They always had something to show me or a skill to teach me.  My Grandma's specialties revolved around baking, sewing and bargain shopping.  I loved sitting at the horseshoe bar in the kitchen that "CrapPa" had made.  I would watch her bake, help her grind cranberries or just listen to her talk.  Many of her stories were about my mother and her siblings, but most revolved around my favorite topic in the house - her love for my grandfather.  She'd tell me about how they had met at work and what they would do on their dates.  He was her knight in shining armor after her divorce.  Even as a preschooler I could remember being impressed that CrapPa had chosen a bride that made him an instant father of four and worked four jobs to support them.  Just watching them, I learned the true meaning of unconditional love. 

I never asked my Grandma much about my mother's biological father.  He didn't mean anything to my mom and I knew that he could never be half the man that my grandfather was.  I spent the majority of my youth following CrapPa around learning how to fix anything and everything.  The stories he told while we were in his garage finishing a project were always fascinating to me.  His youth and adventures in World War II were a constant topic and I could never get enough of them.

My grandfather taught me much more about life than just how to fix items.  He taught me to be patient and kind.  From him I learned that doing a job meant doing it correctly.  He stressed that understanding was imperative in all situations and hard work was a must.  These lessons have served me well in life.  The values he taught me helped me choose a husband and to raise the Heinisch children.  My grandpa's blood may have never run through my veins, but his love was ever in my heart and as long as I am alive his memories will be shared for many years to come.