Finding Success

As Brett's job at IU athletics fizzled out when the pandemic started, he wasn't quite sure what to do next.  It wasn't his dream job by far, but it did provide a nice paycheck.  After giving himself some time to do some deep cleaning both to his apartment and to his piece of mind, he decided that his next step would be to pursue an office position and leave food service management behind.  He set up a few interviews in early March, but the stay at home order postponed those indefinitely.  Thankfully, he never stopped working at Bell Trace while he was at IU.  They were more than happy to hire him full time and we were glad that he had something to focus on while waiting for the coronavirus restrictions to be lifted.  We were also proud of him for not just sitting around his apartment drawing unemployment.  It would have been easy to do, but Doug and I knew that living off of the government would never feel as good as working, especially in a retirement community.

Once May arrived Brett started looking extensively for an office position once again.  He had some good interviews, but none seemed to pan out as he didn't quite have enough time at his political internships to count as a full year of experience.  He started to branch out and try other fields and soon two pharmaceutical companies were interested in him.  One offered him a position with a large pay increase from Bell Trace.  Brett went to the hiring meeting and was ready to accept the job when Storage Express Management contacted him about taking a position in their customer care department.  Brett spent some time thinking about the two jobs before making a decision.  The first paid more, but the second gave him office experience that he desparately wanted.  The latter also had a sales component to it that would give him ways to earn a monetary bonus.  After deep consideration, he chose Storage Express and has been completely thrilled with the decision.  He just finished his third week on the job and already met his monthly sales quota for July.  He has learned a lot, met some great people and has found some success.  We couldn't be happier for him.

A Different Perspective

In 2018 three siblings were killed and another child was severely injured when a pickup truck hit them as they were crossing the street to get on the school bus one dark October morning.  Since the incident happened in nearby Marshall County it was all over the local news and soon became national headlines.  When the accident happened I just couldn't fathom why the driver hadn't stopped when she saw the bus.  I took Cameron to Bethany every day in the dark and felt that it was extremely easy to spot a bus as most not only had flashing lights on the top, but had also incorporated yellow lights in each of the windows.

I didn't think much about the accident again until the trial began a year later.  It was an emotional one and covered daily by Ink Free News, our local online media source.  In the end the twenty-five year old female driver was found guilty of reckless homicide and sentenced to four years in jail followed by three years home detention and three years probation.  The mother of the three children who were killed was so upset with the sentence that she lunged at the defendant in the courtroom threatening her with bodily harm.  Those on social media seemed to agree with the mother that the sentence was too light equating the crime with that of murder.

Although I could completely understand the mother being distraught enough to threaten the driver, I couldn't agree with the comments of the public.  I thought the sentence seemed appropriate for the charges as the pickup driver wasn't texting or driving under the influence.  It was an unfortunate accident that needed a punishment, but the death sentence that the public asked for on social media didn't seem appropriate, neither did the hate they were spewing.

The one part that I still could never understand, however, was how she missed the school bus.  I didn't want to judge the driver, but it just seemed impossible to me that she would have completely disregarded the bright lights in front of her even if it was on the opposite side of the road.  My opinion changed drastically yesterday while I was driving to Cameron's golf tournament.  As Meg and I passed through small town after small town on our way to Rochester talking about what life must have been in each of them, we neared Mentone.  I told Meg that its claim to fame was being the egg basket capital of the midwest.  She stopped a minute and then said, "Isn't that where those children were killed walking to the bus."  After thinking about it, I realized that she was correct and we were actually on the same state road where the accident occurred.

Meg and I kept our eyes open for the trailer park that was the scene of the accident for the rest of the trip and soon spotted a large memorial sign for the three children along with flowers and teddy bears lining the fence displaying it.  As we envisioned the scene from the driver's perspective we realized that there was a lot more to it than just missing the lights of the bus.  The speed limit on the state road was 55 miles per hour.  It was heavily traveled and an S curve led into the entrance of the trailer park where the children were crossing the road to catch the bus.  Although the driver should have slowed when she saw flashing lights, I truly believe that she would not have been able to distinguish what type of vehicle it was, especially with all of the trees surrounding the road.  Both Meg and I remarked after seeing the scene of the accident that the school and the trailer park should have also been held responsible for not providing a safe place for the children to get on the bus without crossing the road.  As the local news had reported that their had been numerous complaints about the bus crossing, I thought that those two entities should have been held to an even higher degree of responsibility of the children's deaths.  They had to know that it was an unsafe bus stop.  It was obviously a poor area of the community and I wondered if decisions would have been made differently had it been an affluent subdivision instead of a worn down trailer park.  Either way it was a good reminder not to judge anyone until you've had a chance to walk in their shoes.  With all of the negativity on social media right now, I wish that more people would come to that realization.

End of the Summer Golf Tournament Season

Today was the last Indiana Junior Golf tournament for Cameron this summer.  Unfortunately, it was also the most disappointing for him.  He had really looked forward to playing at The Round Barn in Rochester, especially since he had scored so well there last year.  Cal kept telling him that it was his least favorite course around, but Cam didn't feel that way heading out this morning.  By the end of the day, however, he couldn't argue with Cal.  The 91 he shot was his highest of the season.   He just couldn't get his long shots to work out and one of the kids that he was playing with was annoyed him constantly by walking in his line of flight before he hit.  He told us on the way home that by the fourth hole he was ready for the round to be over.  The back did go better for him as he finished it with a 43.  Today's touranment may have not been what Cam wanted, but overall we were all pleased that he had been able to participate.  Three months ago we weren't sure if that would be a possibility with the uncertainty of the pandemic.  It gave Cam a chance to compete at a sport that he loves this summer and a safe way for Meg and I to get out of the house.

Longest Night of the Year

Just as we were thinking about going to bed last night, Brett called.  He couldn't reach Doug on his phone, so he tried mine.  I knew when he wouldn't tell me what he wanted that something was wrong.  As soon as Doug got on the phone I realized that unfortunately I was correct.  Brett was coming home from a visit to his girlfriend, Rachel's, when the tire blew off of the front passenger rim.  The car was completely undriveable, leaving him stranded next to a cornfield about ten miles from the closest town.  Thankfully, there happened to be a small church nearby that had a tall pole light that he was able to park beside.

Brett and Doug felt that the best course of action was to call the roadside assistance from our insurance company.  There were pieces of metal sticking out from the undercarriage of the Civic and neither Brett nor Doug were positive that the car would be driveable even if Brett could replace the blown tire with the donut in the trunk.  Roadside assistance said that they would have someone to help him within an hour.  That sounded good to us since it was late at night and not a lot was open near where Brett was stranded.  Within a half hour Brett received a phone call saying that the company originally assigned to help him would not be able to make it, but another truck would be dispatched and would arrive within thirty minutes.  I talked to Brett several times during his wait to keep him compancy and he also kept up a conversation with one of his friends via text as well.  After an hour passed Brett and Doug both decided to call Farm Bureau back.  After being put on hold for another thirty minutes Brett finally reached a live person who said that they would look into it and call him back.

At that point it was close to midnight and Brett had been waiting almost two hours.  We gave up completely on our insurance.  I had been looking online for another auto repair company to meet him, but everyone we tried was either closed or just wouldn't help.  Doug finally decided that the next best step was to call the local police station.  Within ten minutes an officer was able to locate Brett, make sure that he was alright and to evaluate the scene.  He agreed with Brett that the car did not look driveable even if the tire was replaced, so he called a local tow truck company to help.  The plan was to drop the car at a local auto shop and have Brett stay in a nearby hotel.  As soon as the police officer confirmed that the truck was on the way he was called away to another emergency.  He gave Brett his number and assured him that help would be there within fifteen minutes.  Unlike our insurance company, his information was correct and by 1:10 a.m. a tow truck had arrived.

The tow truck driver had more mechanical knowledge than Brett or the helpful police officer and was able to reassure Brett that he could put the donut on and Brett would be able to drive home.  He said that it was the rainguard panel that was sticking out and since the donut was smaller than a regular tire, it wouldn't rub against it.  Thus, by 1:45 a.m. Brett was back in the Civic talking to me about his plan for the rest of the evening.  I originally agreed with the police officer that he should go back to Charleston and spend the night.  Brett said that he wanted to try and make it to Terre Haute instead as there were more tire repair places and a Hilton to stay in for the night.  It was twice as far as Charlston, but a lot closer to Bloomington.

I talked with Brett off and on over the next hour.  Cellular service was limited in the remote area wooded that he was traveling in, so we'd get about ten minutes of conversation in at a time before the service would cut out.  As Brett neared Terre Haute he talked more and more about just driving on to Bloomington.  On a normal day it would have been only an hour more.  With the forty-five mile per hour speed limit that a donut requires we both knew that it would a lot longer and closer to 4:30 a.m. before he reached the safety of his apartment.  Brett felt confident that he could make it and I knew that I would be able to stay up talking with him until he got home.  Thankfully, Brett always has a lot of topics to discuss and soon he was closing in on Spencer, Indiana while I had found out all about his new favorite show from the 1990s "Adventures in Wonderland."  We also discussed his day with Rachel, meeting her parents, politics and his new job.  We stayed away from talking about COVID-19 as I was anxious enough about his current situation.  Once Brett got to Elletsville, I started following him on Find My iPhone while we were still chatting. I saw him pass the football stadium, turn left on 10th, drive by the post office and finally turn into his own parking lot.  At 4:28 a.m. he was in his apartment celebrating with a shot of apple jack whiskey while I was saying a pray of thanks for his safe return.  It was definitely the longest night that I could remember in a quite some time, and I was so incredibly glad that all turned out well.

Swap Meet

Since the pandemic started we have played a lot of Wii.  Meg has stated several times that we are the only family that plays the Wii more than any other video systems.  She is probably right, but I still enjoy it.  Mario Kart used to be the game that we chose to play the most.  Although I am not great at it, I have gotten better over the past few months.  Balance Boat was another game that we played quite a bit and in all honesty it was probably my favorite.  Meg prefers Island Board Game, but that one is a little too long for me.

The game that the three of us can always agree on is Swap Meet.  Lately, we have played it almost daily.  The mini games range from running through a street full of rams to get to the finish line to playing tag with zombies.  I rarely come close to Cam and Meg's scores, but have fun trying to beat the computer Mii while Meg and Cameron battle it out for first.  Even though Cameron wins the majority of the time and Meg is sure that the game is rigged, it has been a lot of fun to play.  I also think that it is funny that we know all of the Mii characters by name including the computer ones.  Just like in real life there are some that we like and some that we do not.  In addition to the computer generated ones Meg, Cam and Nick have made several new Miis, so they usually pick a different character each time we play.  Meg has one for Rizzo and Cam made another named Atmo.  We have Nick's dog Millie as a Mii and a couple of sketchy characters with two sets of eyes or none at all.  Even with all of the new ones, my favorite has remained Flubbs.  He doesn't seem to mind coming in third or fourth, which is where I tend to place, and until their is a return of Joe DeVoe, I'll keep trying to make a winner out of him.  It's been fun playing so much Wii during this time period in our life.  It has also been a nice break from reality.   I know I will miss our late afternoon Swap Meet matches once Meg returns to college.

The Perfect Summer for a Pool

I loved having a pool when we lived in Nappanee.  I swam everyday and thoroughly enjoyed being in the water.  I really missed it after we moved to Syracuse, but found the lake to be a nice substitute.  Once I got into middle school, however, I wasn't as interested in swimming much anymore.  My parents moved to a home on the channel when I was fifteen and it was a nice place to live.  I still wasn't that much into swimming, however, but did jump in a few times while I lived there.  In high school I had friends that were able to drive their family boats and we'd spend quite a bit of time on the lake that way.  Those days were a lot of fun.

When Doug and I moved to Syracuse we never really considered living on water.  He felt that the risks were too high with young children.  I definitely agreed and over the years never really missed boating or swimming.  The Heinisch children all learned to swim through the summer program in our area and each took a turn enjoying the water to various levels from swimming at Grandma's, to hanging out at Miss Cheryl's pool, to jet skiing with friends.  In all of the years that we had lived on Sunset Drive, I had never once thought about getting a pool.  It stayed that way for me until this summer.  The heat and humid have been absolutely oppressive.  The pandemic has allowed for more time at home these past four months and I know that we would have really gotten a lot of use out of a swimming pool.  Today was one of those days that I would have loved to sit by the pool, enjoying the sunshine and refreshing in the water when it got too hot.  Although I know I would have loved it this summer, overall I am glad that we decided against a swimming pool.  The constant cleaning and fear about little ones falling would have never been worth it.  For a brief moment today, however, it felt like it might have been.

A Hot Day for Moving

Cal left for Bloomington last night in order to help Hannah-Marie move from her old apartment to a house.  He was excited to back at IU and she was glad for the help.  Cal texted to say that it was 95 and muggy which Doug said was typical for a moving day.  Fortunately, they had plenty of help and were able to finish by dinner even with time spent looking for an errant key.  Cal was also able to reconnect with a couple of his friends while he was in B-town.  Kirkwood was open for dinner and he enjoyed one of his favorites - Goodfellas Pizza.  He was also able to finish packing everything that was left at his house.  I was glad that he remembered his mini-fridge as he will be able to use that in the basement now.  I was sad thinking that he'd be moving out of Bloomington for the last time, but thankful that he has enough ties to the place that he'll be able to go back whenever he wants.

Ready for the Weekend

Yesterday was an extremely long day, followed by an evening of little sleep.  Thus, I was glad that it was Friday.  Although we don't go out anymore, I still greatly look forward to the weekends.  It gives us a chance to catch up on projects around the house, watch movies, play Wii, read and get in a few games of Ticket to Ride.

Meg started her weekend early by having Sarah over last night.  They were able to enjoy a walk and play Mario Kart on the "big screen" with Cam.  Today Rachel stopped by for a visit.  She and Meg had made plans to play tennis, but the heat changed their minds and they went swimming at Grandma's instead.  Cam's weekend began with tennis practice in the morning and golf at night.  He even talked Grandma and Grandpa into playing a game of Oh Hell on the back patio before it got too dark.  The evening ended with a round of Wii Bowling which I was proud to have won as I had taken my lumps in Swap Meet and Mario Kart lately.  Brett and Cal were happy to report that their weekend had started off great as well.  Brett met Sean for breakfast at Rencible Spoon before work and Cal made it to Bloomington this evening as he had promised to help HM move tomorrow.  Overall, it was nice kick off to the weekend for the entire Heinisch family.  Looking forward to a relaxing few days.  

To Mask or Not to Mask, That is the Question

Yesterday we were all relieved to see that Indiana had finally passed a facemask mandate.  The state had been averaging over nine hundred positive cases a day this past week and had its highest total today since the pandemic started in March.  The national news had even picked Indiana as the next hot spot of coronavirus cases.  Cal, Cam, Meg and I thought that it was about time for a mask ordinance and if it ended the virus outbreak sooner rather than later, we were all for it.  Cal even ordered Bears masks to wear at Tippy as they would be required for bag boys starting Monday.

The only person who really didn't say much was Doug.  He asked a couple of questions about it, but said that he'd have to see the executive order before he would comment.  Today I understood why he said that.  People in Elkhart County had already started complaining on social media about the mask order and suggested that they would quit their jobs before being "forced" to wear a mask.  The same argument about "constituational rights" were mentioned as they had been when the county health department passed an order at the end of June.  Once the debate started here and in other Indiana communities, police offices around the state said that they would not uphold the order.  I was so incredibly sad once I realized that this reaction would affect all of us as cases would continue to rise, schools might not open and a return to normalcy would be postponed even further.

It's even more frustrating when I think about the data that shows that facemasks do slow the spread of the disease.  This has been demonstrated so incredibly clearly in our own state.  Bloomington stressed early in March the importance of social distancing and avoiding large social gatherings.  They even closed restaurants and bars to indoor dining before the statewide stay at home order began.  Brett had to use a facemask at work beginning the week of March 9th.  As soon as the evidence showed that the masks did slow the transmission residents of Bloomington followed suit.  This occured weeks before Monroe county passed a facemask ordinance and their numbers reflect the difference these small changes in daily life have made between the county north of us and theirs.  I realize that the conspiracy theorists won't agree, but for those of use that can count, it only makes sense to put on a mask.

Elkhart County
Population - 206,341
Positive Cases - 4346 (2.1% of the county population)
Positive Percentage Rate - 13.5%
Deaths - 70

Monroe County
Population - 148,431
Positive Cases - 596 (0.4% of the county population)
Positive Percentage Rate - 4.4%
Deaths - 29

Incredibly Thankful for a Return to High School Practice

As the start of school gets closer we have come to realize that it is definitely a possibility that Cameron will begin the year with online learning.  Over these past few weeks Bethany has sent multiple emails and hosted several informational meetings in the hope of having stuents return to a safe educational environment.  Even with their best laid plans, school still might not be in person when it begins on August 10th.  The Elkhart County Health Department posted a message today letting the community know that they will require online learning if the number of positive cases in the county do not improve in the next two weeks.

Thus, we are pleased that Bethany has still been able to have high school sports practices.  They look different than in years past, but that doesn't matter to us.  We are just glad that Cameron has been able to interact with his peers and coaches in a safe environment.  We love that they decided to come up with a schedule to allow fall, winter and spring sports to practice.  That gives Cameron more avenues to interact with his classmates and offers extra golf practice.  Those four days have been enough for Cameron to almost feel a return to normalcy.

Days of Frustration

Today was a frustrating day for one of the Heinisch children due to the restrictions from the pandemic.  It led to tears which hasn't been the first time since March that one of us has cried over the current situation.  Although we have all tried to remain positive these past four months, there are days that just feel so overwhelming.  A hope for a return to normal this summer has been completely dashed as positive COVID-19 cases have exploded across the nation.  Watching others forgo social distancing and facemasks to attend large gatherings has been hard to comprehend, especially when we have tried so incredibly hard in our home to follow the CDC recommendations.  All we can do is try our best to keep our family safe and pray for a quick end to this crisis.

Back on the Links

Cameron had his fifth tournament of the year today at Pretty Lake Golf Club today.  He was excited about it as it was the toughest golf course that he would be playing this summer.  Doug dropped him off this morning and Meg and I arrived just as he was making the turn.  Grandpa had been there from the beginning and filled us in on the highlights of the front nine.  Cameron walked off nine green and was happy to report that he had shot a 41.  His goal was an 82 today, so we were happy to hear that.  He had started off with two birdies on the first three holes.  He said that being two under really made him nervous and that showed on the next few holes.

Cameron had a few three putts to start the back nine which really frustrated him and led to an errant sand shot and a triple bogey.  He said he had a really hard time focusing until fifteen when a sliced drive ended up slamming into my left hip.  I was completely caught off guard as I thought we were well hidden, but I must have stepped back when I heard the ball catch a few tree leaves.  The good news was that my body slowed it down enough that he stayed in bounds by a few inches.  Cam also said that it helped him to regain focus as well.  The bad news was that it really hurt.  Right before he hit I had gotten on Meg for standing a little too far out from the tree.  She said, "Oh, is it going to hit my Birkenstock."  Guess I proved her wrong, but I would have been ok not doing that.  The rest of the round went very well after that.  Cam ran in two nice putts, hit the ball well and finished the last four holes all with pars.  I was extremely impressed with that as they were the toughest holes on the golf course.  He didn't quite make his original goal, but was definitely pleased with an 83 and an 8th place finish.

On Their Own

While we were in Bloomington, Cal and Meg were at home.  They both filled their days with different activities.  Meg swam at Grandma's, had Sarah over to make Tik Toks, worked on homework, FaceTimed Nick and made some new crafts.  Cal for the most part worked at Tippy, played in a golf tournament with Grandpa, studied and hung out with Hannah-Marie.   Both enjoyed meals at Grandma's and a break from the rest of us.  I heard from them both multiple times while we were gone and appreciated that Cal was home every night so that Meg wasn't alone in the house when she went to bed.  Although they were both more than old enough to stay by themselves, some of the unsettling things happening in our neighborhood lately made me glad that they had each other during their weekend on their own.

Sad to Head Home

Doug spent a good portion of this morning moving Cal's furniture out of his house in Bloomington.  He wasn't able to get all of it in the Pilot, but he did find room for a lot of it.  Thankfully Brett had extra space in his second bedroom to fit Cal's queen size bed and extra dresser.  Doug's hope was to pick it up when he brought Meg to school in August when he drives the van down.  He left the cleaning for Cal to do.

Once Doug finished we had just enough time to play Ticket to Ride Germany before leaving for home.  I was really sad to be going back to Syracuse.  Bloomington felt so much safer than our area. Even if we weren't able to go out that much, we least had better food choices, closer grocery stores and a variety of places to take a walk.  I was doubly sad when we left as I wasn't sure when we would be able to go back.  We had already told Meg that once she leaves for school in August, we may not see her again in person until Thanksgiving.  We want a chance to see how much the COVID cases in Monroe County rise once the students get back to campus before making any plans.  Thankfully, Brett will be in Bloomington if she needs him and we can still FaceTime with her which almost feels face to face.  Everyday I pray for an end to this pandemic and a return to our pre-coronavirus life.  I know that it will happen some day.  It just doesn't feel like it will occur any time soon.

Almost Like a Mini Vacation

Because Bloomington takes the pandemic seriously we were able to enjoy a little more freedom than we had these past four months.  Yesterday after Cam's golf tournament we stopped by Oliver Winery. We couldn't bring in our own food, but we could purchase wine and snacks on property to eat out on the picnic tables.  Masks were required in the store and everyone was social distancing.  I was impressed by that and extremely relieved.  It was nice just to sit outside and enjoy lunch while listening to golf stories.  After we ate we returned to Brett's.  He had to work and wasn't home until close to 6 p.m.  We decided to stay in that night to play Ticket to Ride.  Dinner was ordered from Upland Brewery Company so that Cam could get his favorite spicy chicken sandwich and Doug and Brett could order a growler of their beer.

This morning Cam and Doug headed to the tennis court at Brett's apartment to play before it got too hot.  Cam was happy to say that he beat Doug 6-4.  The three of us went to the mall next.  Once again I couldn't believe how many people were wearning masks and how many stores required them. I felt completely safe going into Target to get a few items while Doug and Cam went to Dick's.  When Cam bought his golf bag last March he also purchased a warranty on it.  The strap broke several weeks ago and after a couple of phone calls I wasn't sure that we'd get anything out of it.  Thankfully, everyone at Dick's was extremely helpful and Cam walked out with a brand new bag that looked just like his old one.

We went to Kirkwood after our small shopping excursion.  It was almost deserated.  We were able to walk in a few Indiana shops and even try a beer on the patio of a new place, Fat Dan's.  I was a little nervous, just because I hadn't been anywhere to speak of except the grocery store in quite awhile.  It was nice, however, just to be out and about.  We went to Kohls next to pick up a few items that Brett ordered and then Doug and Cam bought new shoes at Shoe Carnival.  While we were out we received a notice that Bloomington had passed a mask ordinance that would go begin at 5 p.m. that day.  As many people that were wearing masks already, we were surpised that it hadn't already been passed.

Brett got home at 6 again this evening, happy to have finished his first week or work and training.  He starts on his own Sunday.  Although he was nervous about it, he was also extremely excited about the prospects of his new career.  The four of us decided to return to Kirkwood for dinner.  We had read that restaurants would be serving outdoors in the closed off street and wanted to see if it was doable for our family.  We had invited Parce to join us, but the heat changed his mind.  We were glad that we had gotten to see him yesterday afternoon as he will be moving to Columbus next week.  I couldn't believe how big Eleanor had gotten since I last saw her in October.

We were absolutely surprised with how few people there were on Kirkwood when we arrived.  We almost expected a festival type atmosphere or jam packed table like we see in Syracuse, but it was nothing like that.  We stopped at Lennie's first and were the only ones seated outside under an individual tent.  They weren't serving food yet, but we were able to try a few of their drinks.  We then walked to Big Woods for dinner.  Unfortunately, it was the only place that was too crowded for us.  Therefore we ate at Cafe Pizzeria and were one of only two tables eating dinner.  Everyone else was grabbing pizzas to go.  Although, I still felt a little bit nervous about being around people and actually eating from a restaurant, it was as safe as I thought it should be.

One Fantastic Round

Doug took Cam to Cascades this morning  forty-five minutes early so that he could practice putting and hit balls before his 10:15 tee time.  I stayed back at Brett's apartment as walking eighteen holes on a very hilly course would be too much for me.  It also gave me a chance to finish a couple of projects that Brett had asked me to help with while we were there.  Doug ran back to get me when Cam teed off on eight.  We made it to Cascades just as Cam made the turn.  He was happy to say that he had shot a 38 on the front nine.  We were both extremely impressed.

Cameron continued to play well on the back and Doug and I really enjoyed watching him.  He hit some fantastic shots and almost chipped it in out of the sand.  He finished the day with a 78 and until the last group reported, he was in third place.  He wasn't disappointed coming in fifth as that was his best finish ever in an Indiana Junior tournament.  Doug and I were pleased with how well Cam played, but the best part was afterward when the Grandma of one of the players in his group told us that she was extremely impressed with how helpful Cameron was to her grandson as it was his first tournament and he was nervous.  That was very nice to hear.

A Rare Getaway

When we signed up for golf tournaments this winter, we never dreamed that we would be in the middle of a pandemic when they would actually be played.  The coronavirus did change some of our summer golf plans.  We had to cancel two of the tournaments and one of the golf courses decided not to host a planned event in July.  One tourney that Cam had really wanted to participate in was Cascades in Bloomington.  He had played the course a dozen or more times over the past few years and really liked it.  With all of the positive COVID-19 tests in Indiana recently we weren't sure that a trip would be possible.

Thankfully, Brett was able to offer us a safe place to stay and Bloomington was a low risk county due to the dilegence of its residents to wear masks.  Thus, Doug, Cam and I headed south as soon as practice at Black Squirrel was over.  I was worried about having to stop on the way down, but we all made it without a break.  We pulled into Pizza Express a little before ten and picked up breadsticks for dinner.  It was strange driving through campus as it was completely desolate.  Brett was glad to see us and after unpacking we were all seated around his kitchen table enjoying breadsticks and introducing him to our newest version of Ticket to Ride - Europe.

Lots of practice

Meg and I took Cameron to tennis practice this morning at Bethany.  While he was busy, Meg and I were able to take a walk and get a few things done before picking him back up.  He filled us in on what he had worked on today.  He got to play matches against both his coach, Matt, and fellow teammate, Austin.  Cam was pleased that his serve had improved since he and Doug had played over the weekend.  Matt had talked to him about playing singles again this year and maybe this time on varsity.  I was happy for him, but more importantly just hoped that there would actually be a season this fall.

The rest of the afternoon for Cam was spent working on his golf game.  He had changed his grip and wanted to practice his new swing.  Grandpa met him at South Shore to hit balls which Cam felt really helped.  Meg and I ran a few errands while he was there.  She and I weren't too surprised to see how few cars there were at South Shore.  It definitely does not have much play compared to Maxwelton.  It was put up for sale this spring, but we haven't heard if they have had any interest yet.  The course was in pretty bad shape today with a lot of clover and dead grass.  Hopefully they find someone with a lot of golf course knowledge to bring it back to life.   

A Break From the Heat

The heat these past few weeks has been oppressive to say the least.  Neither Doug nor I enjoy having the air conditioner on and before the ninety degree temperatures last week we were able to keep the house cool with window fans, turning off unneccesary lights and closing the curtains to block out the sun.  Over the last few days we did finally have to run the air during the day for a few hours when the temperature in our house reached 85 degrees.  We set the thermostat at 76 and by the time it got to 77 in our home, Meg came down with a sweatshirt on to let us know that it was "freezing" in the house.  She and Cam had definitely gotten used to living without air conditioning.  Even just using it to cool off the main level and their bedrooms was too much for them.  Whether the air was on or off never affected Cal as the basement remained the same temperature no matter the weather outside.  In fact we closed all of his vents to push the air upstairs since he didn't need it.  Thankfully, the forecast has called for a break from the heat starting today.  We were all thrilled to see that as we could once again enjoy the fresh air in our house day and night.

Back to School

Nick left this afternoon for Purdue.  His flight classes had been cut short this spring due to the stay at home order and since those couldn't be completed by Zoom, he had to wait until this summer to finish them.  He was happy to be going back as all of his friends would be there as well.  His apartment allowed him to move in a month early which was a big help.  Meg gave him a new cookbook and blender to take back with him and we added in Faygo pop and money for groceries.

Meg handled the change in her summer plans well until she found out that he would be there for a month instead of two weeks.  She thought that they would have three more weeks of summer left once he finished his classes.  There haven't been a lot of people around here to do things with and because of the pandemic she hasn't been able to fill her free time with a part-time job.  We felt bad for her as the past four months had thrown a curve in her social life.  She was more than ready to be independent of us and then life forced her back home.  Hopefully, she will be back in Bloomington soon and a then sense of normalcy should return.

You've Got to Be Kidding Me

It rained off and on most of yesterday afternoon once we got back from Cameron's tournament.  It finally cleared up enough for us to eat dinner outside and enjoy the rest of the evening in the backyard.  Once it started to get dark, Cameron set up the Wii on the projector so that he, Nick and Meg could play Swap Meet on the big screen.  It was fun to watch Flubbs, Millie and DKKoonga in larger than life size.  After they finished the game, Cameron headed in, but Doug, Meg, Nick and I began the live action movie Beauty and the Beast.

Doug made it through at least half of the movie before heading to bed.  He let me know that Cal and Hannah-Marie were out front.  They had returned form the drive-in movie theater in Plymouth where they watched Goonies.   Shortly after Doug fell asleep, Cal and HM joined us out back.  They wanted to let us know that the police had stopped by on a noise complaint.  He asked Cal if we were the house with the loud music as they couldn't hear anything.  Cal assumed that the neighbors called about the movie as we were using Nick's speakers so that he could hear it since the projector's volume was not that loud.  

After Cal informed us of their conversation with the police, we decided to go ahead and unplug the speakers and finish the rest of the movie with just the projector volume and the closed captioning on for Nick.  By the time Beast finished singing "Evermore" I was absolutely furious.  I would have had no problem turning down the volume on the movie if our neighbors had asked us first.  Calling the police was a joke.  We had actually just been talking to my parents about the loud parties, screaming children and booming fireworks that have occurred every weekend on our street.  Neighbors walk through our front yard constantly and dogs bark at us non-stop, even when we're just hanging out in the backyard.  This has been going on since April and as loud and annoying as it all has been, we have never once contemplated calling the police.  We knew that the most neighborly thing to do would be to talk with them first.  We  expected the same courtesy from those living around us.  

Golf Tournament #3

Cameron played at Black Squirrel today in his third Indiana Junior golf tournament of the summer.  He had high expectations for himself since it was the home course of the Bethany golf team.  Cameron definitely had some awesome holes with three birdies on the day making him first in par breakers.  There were also some rough holes with several penalties and a difficult bunker shot that left him with an eight on number eleven.  In the end Cam finished with an 87 putting him in eleventh place.  He was a little disappointed, but overall just happy that he got to play in another tournament.  Between the high number of COVID-19 cases in Elkhart county and the predicted storms for the afternoon none of us were positive that a round of golf would be possible today.  Grandma and Grandpa loved riding along and watching him play and Meg and I enjoyed catching them on the back nine once the major rainstorm of the day passed through.  It may have not been the perfect round, but as Doug always says, "Any day that you can play golf is a good day!"

Ready For This to Be Over

Cases of COVID-19 continue to increase rapidly in the United States, especially in several large southern states.  Sometimes just looking at the numbers is completely overwhelming.  The President and Secretary of the Department of Education have demanded that schools open this fall or lose federal funding, but with the rise in positive cases it almost feels reckless for this to happen.  The Big Ten announced today that they will only be playing conference games this fall in an effort to limit players exposure.  That makes Doug and I wonder if in the end college and/or high school sports will be cancelled all together.   Meg keeps saying, if everyone would just wear a mask than we could be done with this virus.  So many other countries have had better testing procedures, more restrictions, stricter mask ordinances and larger contract tracing resources.  I am embarrassed that the US has not done a better job with handling the pandemic.  I am also extremely concerned as locally Elkhart County has not seem much of a decline since the mask order was issued.  In fact eleven people have died in the county just since Monday.  That doubles their death count since I first started checking in early June.  With all of the protesting surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement, I am starting to wondering if anyone's lives matter anymore.  Everything feels so out of control and everyone seems extremely angry.  I read this meme on social media today and thought it best described how I felt at this moment in time.  Everyday I pray for a quick end to this current situation.

School Reopening?

Tonight Doug went to the reopening meeting for Bethany.  They had sent out a detailed plan by email which was impressive to me.  Doug said that he felt that they were taking the safety of all students and staff seriously.  The most important information that he received was that all individuals entering the buildings would be wearing masks, the building would be cleaned thoroughly and social distancing would be required.  Doug was able to ask about driver's education and found out that Bethany would not be offering the course this year.  That will put a small wrench in our plans for Cameron, but we have time to figure that out.  Several individuals asked how band, choir and singing in chapel would work as those were deemed high risk activities by the CDC.  Bethany had not 100% decided on how those activities would look this year, but ensured everyone that everyone would be  distanced well apart and all would be wearing masks even in band.  The hope was that the majority of classes would that they could be held outside as much as possible.  Lunch would be staggered to allow for more room in the cafeteria.  With small class sizes in general at Bethany social distancing during the majority of the day would be easy to maintain.

It will be a little stressful sending Cam back to school.  We have worked very hard these past four months to social distance and reduce our exposure to the Coronavirus.  This will be a big step for our family in returning to the outside world.  Both Doug and I feel that Bethany has done its best to lay out a plan that will hopefully allow students to return to school safely.

High School Practice Begins

Today Cameron began high school tennis practice.  This was the first week that practice had been allowed since March 16th.  Cameron and Doug had been working on the drills these past few weeks, but Cameron said that it was extremely nice to be back on the court with his friends and Matt, his coach.  When Meg and I picked him up, he filled us in on his matches and what he thought he did well at and what he needed to work on still.  He struggled with his serve the most, but felt good about his ground strokes.  I was glad to hear his report after his first day back at Bethany, but overall I was just so incredibly happy that Cameron was able to be with his friends and classmates once again.  It has been a long four months, having some sort of normalcy today was extremely nice.

Ticket to Ride Europe

For Doug's birthday I gave him the game Ticket to Ride Europe.  We had played the original so many times that I thought it would be fun to play a new version of a family favorite.  Since Meg went to Nick's tonight and Cam was at Bailee's, we decided to give the game a try this evening.  It was different than the original game with train stations, ferry routes and tunnels included.  I thought that they were fun additions.  It took me awhile to learn where countries like Brest were on the map, but after a few hands I really enjoyed the challenge of the European version.  Although Doug beat me in our first round, I was able to take him the second time that we played.  Doug definitely has had the upper hand in the original game lately.  It was nice to feel as though I at least had a chance of winning tonight.

A Day of Gift Giving

Cal stopped by for lunch today.  While we visited, he gave Doug his birthday gift.  He had wanted to get him a new Tom Brady jersey, but they were on backorder until September.  Instead he found a Tampa Bay Buccaneers shirt for him.  Doug really liked it.  It will be strange to see Doug cheering for the Bucs this year after faithfully rooting for the Patriots for over a decade.

Meg made it back from Bloomington and Cam arrived home from golf in time for everyone to give Doug the rest of his gifts after dinner.  My parents joined us for the occasion and brought a mini-cheesecake to go along with the big cookie that Meg and I bought him earlier in the week.  Doug appreciated the Mother Bears' gift certificate that he received from my parents.  Meg gave him an IU polo shirt.  I found a Ticket to Ride Europe game for him and Cam supplied his dad with a bag of goodies including pork rinds, raspberry salsa, and Ghiradelli chocolates.  All were perfect gifts for Doug and a great way to end a wonderful weekend.

Happy Birthday to the Heinisch Founding Father!

Today Doug officially turned fifty years old!  We had planned to spend his birthday in Atlanta, but had to cancel due to the pandemic.  Although it was disappointing not to be able to travel this year, we still had a wonderful day.  Doug and I played Ticket to Ride.  He finished reading Jordan Rules.  We enjoyed a dinner of grilled chicken and sweet corn.  Doug received numerous texts and phone calls wishing him a Happy Birthday.  Cal stopped by for a visit after work before heading out on the lake and my parents came up in the evening for a game of Oh Hell!  While we watched our neighbors' fireworks from our front porch at the end of the night, we talked about all of the places that we had spent celebrating the 4th - St. Louis under the Arch, Vermont and the home of Calvin Coolidge, Maine for an impromptu parade, Mount Vernon and DeKalb.  All of the trips were a lot of fun and we hoped that we'd be able to return to vacationing next year.  It was nice this year, however, just to spend a quiet day at home reminiscing about the thirty-one birthdays/4th of Julys that we had celebrated together.

A Rare Outing

Doug came home earlier in the week and said that he had read that the perfect outdoor social distancing activity was miniature golf.  Cam and I were both in favor of trying it, so today we headed to Paige's Crossing in Columbia City.  Doug had never been there, but Cam and I had enjoyed it last summer.  We decided to bring our own putters just in case, but probably wouldn't have needed them.

We played course A first and Doug quickly jumped out to the lead.  Cam and I figured that we would be able to catch him, but that wasn't the case.  Doug played extremely well leaving Cam and I in the dust.  According to Doug it was the biggest margin of victory in our miniature golf history.  He was probably correct as he beat me by twelve strokes and Cam by ten.  Cameron chose course B for the second round and Doug was once again victorious.  Thankfully, it was a lot closer this time and he needed a career hole in one to beat Cameron by one.  Before we left Paige's Crossing we called Mad Anthony's to order lunch.  We hadn't eaten there since before the pandemic began.  Doug was happy to get a jambalaya pizza while Cam and I chose unwraps.  Doug was even able to pick up a growler of Summer Daze to go.

The rest of the day was a quiet one.  Meg called to let me know that they were going to try Bub's for dinner.  Brett had to work late, so he agreed to meet them at the Chocolate Mousse for dessert.  Cal worked at Tippy and then went to David's for the day.  Cameron got in two rounds of nine holes at Maxwelton by playing two separate balls on the front.  He met up with two other guys playing by themselves and agreed to join them.  Tonight my parents came up for a game of croquet which featured Grandpa Cutes making a career shot to knock out Doug only to rebound himself through a wicket ending his run at becoming champion.  It was a great way to end a fun day.

My Friend Mary

Mary texted me this morning to say that she'd be at the high school from 1 to 3 while Evan was participating in driver's education.  She was hoping to walk over and pay me a social distance visit.  I was super excited when I read her message.  It had been quite awhile since I had talked to her in person and it was the perfect day for it as Cam was golfing, Cal was working and Meg was in Bloomington.

My visit with Mary today was a little atypical.  She had a couple of issues that were troubling her and we spent some time talking about them.  I have found in our past conversations that it has usually been me with a question or concern to run by her.  I had hoped by the end of our talk that I had given her some encouragement on the topics at hand.  I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her and was a little bummed that the time had flown by so quickly.

Tonight I thought a lot about our conversation.  Mary has always been one of the nicest people that I have ever known.  She has a way of lifting one's spirits and finding a kind word in every situation.  She was a great help to me when I was teaching.  She's loyal, hard working, an excellent problem solver and a wonderful friend to have. Thus, I was completely dumbfounded when I found out that someone had treated her and her family poorly.  In fact, it broke my heart.  As I relayed the story to Doug, I kept saying, who would be mean to Mary?  I still don't understand that, but knew that my Mom's phrase "Everything happens for a reason," was more than appropriate in this situation.  I was glad that Mary had the same thought and was already finding the positives in their current dilema.  I wouldn't have expected anything different.

"And Another One's Gone . . ."

Cal left tonight for the week.  His friends had made plans to be in town for the 4th of July and he wanted to spend time with them and Hannah Marie for the next few days.  Last year we hosted everyone, but with the pandemic we just weren't able to open up our house to them this summer.  Cal was alright with that as he realized that avoiding COVID-19 was a priority for our family.  I was sad to see him leave and started to cry, but he stopped me and said he wouldn't be gone that long.

Cal was right, but I still hated to see him go.  I appreciated that he asked me to watch Bohemian Rhapsody yesterday.  It was fun spending time with him and sharing one of my favorite movies with him.  He liked the movie a lot more than I thought that he would.  I have always been a big fan of Freddie Mercury and Queen.  I didn't realize that he like them as well.  Tonight before he left Cam, Cal and I had time to catch an episode of Scooby Doo and Laff-A-Lympics together.  I was glad that he made time for us this week.  I know he will enjoy his friends and we will see him soon.