A Busy Day Ends With A Quiet New Year's Eve

With everyone else out of the house today, Cameron decided to invite Bailee over.  They had talked about getting together during break and fortunately it worked in her schedule as well.  Bailee's father dropped her off at 10 a.m. and she and Cam spent the next four hours exchanging Christmas presents, watching It's a Wonderful Life and playing games.  I talked to Cam about ordering Subway for lunch, but they settled on eggs and bacon instead.  It was nice having one of Cam's friends visit over break.  

I decided to use my time this morning to bring in all of the outside Christmas decorations.  It wasn't quite as hard as I thought it would be with the exception of getting the lights unhooked from the pine tree.  I had to use a step stool and was sure that I was going to fall into the tree.  Thankfully, there was a long stick close by that helped me in my efforts to unhook everything and I was able to finish with the decorations by noon.  I was glad to be done as tomorrow's forecast called for freezing rain and I really wanted them in the house before that mess began.

After Bailee left Cam drove me to Menards in Warsaw.  It was a quick shopping trip there as we only needed a few items.  Martins took a little bit longer, but it wasn't quite as bad as I envisioned.  I told Cameron that someone commented on social media that Kosciusko County didn't need a mask ordinance as no one actually followed it.  His proof was that at any time of the day he could walk into Martins and at least ten people would be maskless.  I decided to test his theory today and lo and behold there were ten individuals without face coverings.  I got a kick out of that but decided that I would probably need to start shopping elsewhere going forward.  Cam did a nice job driving home.  He appreciated the practice in the parking lots as well.  That's something we haven't worked on a lot yet.

Doug was home when we got there.  We hurried and unloaded the van so that I could take a walk before it got dark.  Once we both finished exercising the rest of the evening was spent playing games and watching the Twilight Zone marathon.  It was only the three of us this year as Brett had to work and then had plans to go Sean's afterward.  Cal went to Michigan with the Lamles and Meg was in West Lafayette with Nick.  Thus, we let Cameron pick the dinner menu which consisted of meatballs, lil' smokies, cheese, crackers and Hawaiian bread with spinach dip - definitely some of my favorites.  All of us made it up until midnight which was impressive for Doug especially since he had had a long couple of days with inventory.  Cal didn't quite believe me even when I sent him a picture of Doug with eyes wide open.  It may have been a quiet New Years Eve in the Heinisch home, but one that the three of us enjoyed.  

Two Down - Four to Go

 Several weeks ago Meg and Brett found out that they would be some of the first Hoosiers offered to receive the COVID-19 vaccination because of their employment at Bell Trace Assistant Living Home.  We knew that it was a possibility, but didn't realize that it would happen this quickly.  After attending a meeting at work and doing some research, both of them decided that they would sign up for their first dose.  While waiting for their shots they found out that they would still have to wear masks and social distance until ten days after the second dose.  They also learned that an extremely rare allergic reaction had occurred in some recipients.  Therefore they would have to remain in medical observation for fifteen minutes after their vaccination.  These additional facts did not to detour their desire to be immunized.  

Neither Meg nor Brett were concerned about the potential side effects either.  Those reported had been relatively mild compared to the virus - headaches, fever, and body aches for twenty-four hours or less.  What mattered most to both of them was to keep the vulnerable safe, especially those they worked with at Bell Trace.  Although the morality rate was incredibly low in Brett and Meg's age group, in the population that they worked with it was considerably higher.  The latest news report stated that 80% of the COVID-19 deaths had occurred in people aged 65 and above with a 15% mortality rate in those over eighty years old.  

Meg's vaccination was yesterday at IU Health.  She was nervous, but overall it went well.  The shot did not hurt, but her arm was a little sore.  She did have a sore throat later, but nothing unusual for her.  After her fifteen minute waiting period, she signed up for her second one to be given in three weeks.  We know from that timeframe that she received the Pfizer vaccine which was great news at it had a 95% efficacy rate.  Brett received his vaccination this morning and followed the same routine as Meg's.  The only difference was that he had mild body aches instead of a sore throat.  Overall, they both said that it went as well as they could have hoped.  I was happy to hear that and so incredibly proud of them for taking the step to keep those that they care about safe and help put an end to the pandemic.  

Getting on the Road Before the Storm Hits

 It was definitely the quiet before the storm today in the Heinisch home with everyone trying to get on the road before the predicted ice hit.  Cal was the first to leave.  He had the auditing portion of the CPA in Ohio this afternoon.  He didn't want to take any chances on missing it and left last night.  I had Hilton points for him to use for a free night stay.  That worked out well for him as he was able to stop about five miles from his testing site.  

Meg and Nick were the next out the door as they left for Bloomington this morning.  They not only wanted to miss the storm, but also have time to stop at Popeye's in Indy before her vaccination appointment.  Meg called when they got to Brett's apartment to report that they made it safely and that Nick really liked his chicken sandwich.  The weather forecast also altered my parents' travel plans as they left on their trip a day early and made good progress on the way to their destination.  

Brett waited until 5:30 to leave.  The snow arrived earlier than was originally thought, so he did have to travel through it from Pierceton to Wabash, but otherwise had no issues and was home by 9 p.m.  Cal drove through the same area an hour later and experienced the worst of the early snow shower.  He was almost sideswiped at a four way intersection, but thankfully was able to stop before an accident occurred.  Needless to say, he was more than glad to be home before it got worse.  Doug spent the evening watching the snowfall.  He had to get up at 3:30 a.m. for inventory tomorrow morning and was concerned about the icy roads.  I was worried as well, but knew that Doug was a safe driver and there would be very little traffic on the roads at that time.  I said a prayer for him before I headed to bed and thanked God for the safe travels of the Heinisch family today.

Game Time

Doug took today off so that he could have a five day weekend.  It was nice to have him home.  He spent the morning with Cameron in Warsaw for his tennis lesson.  Brett was gone most of the morning as well as he had a dentist appointment and then ate lunch with Grandma and Grandpa.  Meg spent quite a bit of her time today cleaning her room and packing for her trip to Bloomington/West LaFayette.   Cal had last minute review to work on for his auditing CPA test tomorrow.  I did a lot of laundry as both Meg and Brett needed theirs done before they left tomorrow.  Brett and I did have time to squeeze in time to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol which has definitely become one of my favorite Christmas movies.

In between all of the other activities we also had time to play several games today.  Doug, Cam, Brett and I broke out the new Ticket to Ride Nederlands game.  It was crazy playing with four people as the routes became extremely crowded.  Meg, Brett, Nick and Cam then played a round of Mario Kart.  Cam had switched to manual for our last few races and ended up losing big to Meg.  Tonight he changed back to automatic and ended up champion once again.  We finished the evening with Disney trivia Geek Out.  Cam and I teamed up against Nick and Meg.  Brett played as a single and even without any help beat us all.  We all have really enjoyed Brett's new gift and decided that it would be a great activity for a Zoom get together.

Merry Christmas Part 2

 Brett arrived just before 2 a.m. this morning.  He had decided to leave after work instead of waiting until today.  Meg and I stayed up until he made it home and he spent quite a bit of the drive talking to Grandma and Grandpa.  He said that he was tired and glad to be home.  We all went to bed as soon as he unloaded his car.

Our second round of Christmas started at 1 p.m.  It was fun to watch Brett open his gifts from everyone.  He wasn't able to guess all of them as in years past.  Part of the reason for that was that we gave him several items that weren't on his list.  The other reason was that he sent me his list so long ago that he forgot a couple of the items.  We each opened our gifts from Brett as well.  I really appreciated my daily devotional and Meg loved her new puzzle.  The Heinisch children also opened their grandparent gifts this afternoon.  Candy and money were the shared themes and everyone appreciated the extra cash.

Doug made ham, scalloped potatoes, green been casserole, corn and biscuits for lunch.  Everything was delicious, especially the English trifle for dessert.  The rest of the day was spent playing Ticket to Ride, Wii and Brett's new Disney Geek Out Trivia game.  It was a wonderful Christmas celebration with our entire family.  The only disappointing part of the day was saying goodbye to Winston as the Lamles returned from their Christmas trip.

A Break From the Cold

 The past two days have been absolutely freezing.  Every time I asked the Google home mini what the temperature was it always ended with "and the wind chill makes it feel (below single digits) temperature.  Thus, we mostly stayed indoors on Christmas and Christmas Eve except when we went to see Grandma Jane and Grandpa Cutes.  Fortunately, I had walked Sunday through Wednesday so I only need one more day to meet my minimum weekly goal of five days/150 minutes of exercise time.  Today was perfect for it and  I appreciated that Doug offered to go with me.  Once we got back I actually would have started taking down the outside Christmas if Brett hadn't of been coming home tomorrow.

After our walk the majority of our day was spent watching football and relaxing.  We did start the new Walt Disney World puzzle.  At first we were concerned that it would be extremely challenging, but after figuring out that we should start with the center design instead of the all blue edge pieces we began to make progress.  Cameron started his new Madden game as well and worked in his sketchbook.  Meg played games with Nick's family via Zoom.  Cal went with Jayce to Fort Wayne to hang out with a few friends from high school.  Since they did not plan to return until tomorrow, Grandma and Grandpa offered to take Winston for the night.  All went well there until Winston decided to try some butter.  That didn't end well for his stomach, but thankfully he seemed to pull through it alright.  

Merry Christmas

 In a year of change, Christmas at the Heinisch home was no different.  For the first time in sixteen years all of six of us were not at home this morning.  Brett had to work at Storage Express last night and decided that he would rather take Sunday off so that he could have a three day weekend to come home.  We liked that plan as neither Doug nor I wanted him to drive home late Christmas Eve night only to head back early on the 26th.  It also allowed Brett to work at Bell Trace which he thoroughly enjoyed.  In addition to the bonus of overtime pay and visiting with his favorite residents on the holiday, he was a big help as well since he and his boss were the only two available in the afternoon to bag up meals for delivery.  He was tired by the end of the day, but said that it was well worth it.

Doug and I had always realized that there would be a time in our lives when not everyone would be available to open gifts with us on Christmas morning.  Thus, we just appreciated the fact that Cam, Cal and Meg were available.  We got a later start than usual, but by 10:30 a.m. everyone was opening their stockings.  Cam wasn't quite sure what to do with his snow brush, but once I explained that it wasn't a giant toothbrush or a toilet brush he caught on to what it was.  We spent the next hour or so unwrapping gifts and enjoying each other's reactions.  Cal loved the vintage Simpson shirt that he received as well as one with Patrick asking "Is Mayonnaise an Instrument."  Meg appreciated her new Converse shoes along with the Winnie the Pooh fanny pack that I found online through Box Lunch.  Cam had asked for a Lions jersey as his big gift of the season and made sure to post a picture on Instagram tagging David in it.  That led to several texts floating back and forth between the Bears and the Lions fans today.  Meg did a lot of the Christmas shopping this year and Doug put her in charge of picking out several of my gifts.  I loved everything that I received, but was especially appreciative of the new butterfly backpack and matching key chain wallet.  Doug didn't ask for very much this year, but did like the new Rutgers and Michigan State shirts.  Of course I picked out a new Ticket to Ride Nederlands to give him which we made sure to try out before the end of the evening.

We had Mostaccioli for Christmas dinner saving the ham for Sunday.  Doug also made Caesar salad, homemade bread and a new squash casserole recipe.  It was all delicious.  Nick joined us for our main meal and then he and Meg headed to Grandma's to visit with them for an hour or so.  Once they left for Goshen, Cam, Doug and I stopped by as well.  Cal had already visited them earlier in the day.  Our family gave Grandma a new FitBit like the one Meg, Cal and I have.  She love it.  Grandpa got golf balls for his trip to Florida, a new golf shirt, circus peanuts, an IU mask and the most important gift of all - a Bill Walton Back from the Dead biography.  Cameron picked that out as soon as the Maui classic was over knowing how much Grandpa loved him as an announcer.  The rest of the evening was a quiet one filled with games and the start of my new Walt Disney World puzzle.  It was a very nice Christmas celebration and we are all looking forward to a repeat of today on Sunday.  

Saying Goodbye to One Tradition and Adding Another

 Our traditional Christmas Eve had included putting baby Jesus in the manger, baking cookies with Dad, going to children's mass, opening Godparent gifts and watching It's a Wonderful Life.  Most years it also included me strongly encouraging Cal to wrap his presents for everyone.  This year Cal finished his gifts a day early, but that wasn't the only tradition that we said goodbye to in 2020.  Due to the pandemic we decided to forgo mass this evening.  Meg's response to this decision was, "You know, ten year old me would have been pretty excited about that decision."  To which Cal responded, "I'm not going to lie, but twenty-two year old me is pretty excited about that decision now."  Cam and Brett agreed with Cal.  We had probably outgrown children's Christmas Eve mass several years ago, not only because of the Heinisch children's ages, but also due to the death of Father Hire.  We all loved his camel stories and questions to the children at mass.  Father Andrew headed a nice Christmas Eve mass as well, but it just wasn't the same.

We did hold true to the other Heinisch family traditions, however.  Cam helped with the cookies and for was granted the honor of putting baby Jesus in the manger.  Meg usually requested that important responsibility.  Everyone still had a Godparent gift to open and for the first time ever we had a visitor during this special family time.  Winston had joined us for the week as the Lamles went to South Carolina to spend time with their own family.  We had all enjoyed having him here and Meg had even picked out a gift for him that he was allowed to open along with Godparent gifts.  It was a lot of fun watching him "squeak" his new reindeer and we decided that watching Winston open a toy on Christmas Eve should be our new family tradition.  Afterward we finished the evening with It's a Wonderful Life realizing that in the Heinisch family it truly is.

 

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas . . .

 It was a whirlwind of a day in the Heinisch home as we spent most of it getting last minute items checked off our to-do list before our Christmas holiday began.  Doug had one last day at Champion for the week.  Cal met his friends early in the morning to work out before taking Winston home to check on HM's cat and study for the CPA.  Cam, Meg and I spent the morning in Warsaw where he had a tennis lesson.  While he was there, Meg and I dropped his glasses off at the eye doctor to be repaired and then bought our Christmas groceries at Martins.  Thankfully, the eye doctor's office was able to fix them before we had to get back to pick up Cameron.  Cam and Meg decided that a big pop was in order and he drove us safely from Warsaw to North Webster before driving home.  It took me all afternoon to get the groceries put away, clean the kitchen, finish the laundry, get the oil changed and take a walk.  

It was by far the quickest and most hurried afternoon that I had had in quite some time.  It was worth it, however, as we spent the rest of the night enjoying the Christmas season.  Cam, Doug and I met Nick and Meg in Warsaw to tour the Christmas lights at Central Park.  There seemed to be more than in years past and we enjoyed walking through the displays and taking pictures.  We picked up Mad Anthony's on the way home and although Cal did not join us for the lights, he did appreciate the food we brought back to him.  The rest of the evening was spent playing Ticket to Ride, watching IU basketball lose and finishing The Shop Around the Corner.  It was a wonderful way to start our holiday vacation.

End of the Semester

 For some reason Bethany decided to shorten their Christmas break by having school on Monday and Tuesday of this week.  Even with two extra days of school, Bethany students would still get two weeks off as they weren't scheduled to return until the 6th of January, but they would only have two weekends off instead of three.  Maybe they scheduled it when they thought that they could use those two days for finals, but since the tests were cancelled, Cam would have really enjoyed the extra time off from school.  Thankfully, we weren't traveling anywhere this year, so it really didn't matter.  

While Cam was busy with virtual learning, Meg and I used the time to wrap gifts, take walks and be available to play Wii whenever Cam was on a break.  As soon as he finished with his last class today, Cam and Meg headed to Grandma and Grandpa's to visit with them and watch Rizzo get a nail trim.  Afterward they decided to celebrate the end of semester with Big Pops and candy from Circle K.  Cam didn't join Meg, Doug and I for a viewing of White Christmas, but he did take some time to beat us all at Mario Kart before retiring to his room for the evening, happy to be done with semester one.

Girls Night Out on Zoom

 I sent my friends a Christmas movie recommendation last week via text.  Several of them had enjoyed Hallmark Christmas movies over the years and last Christmas we all got together to watch one.  I didn't quite share their enthusiasm for the movies, but did find several on Disney + that I liked.  As everyone kept texting back and forth, Paula suggested that we all get together via Zoom and picked tonight for the "girls night out."

I was a little nervous about committing to the virtual evening as my computer had not been acting correctly since last March.  Thankfully, I was finally able to fix it and tonight was able to join in on the Zoom call.  Besides Paula and I, Mary, Wendy and Cherie were also part of the fun.  We spent about an hour and a half catching up and sharing stories of our current activities.  I really enjoyed not only talking with everyone, but also seeing their smiling faces.  I walked away happy and sad.  It was great to be with my friends again and it reminded me of what I missed most about teaching.  Overall, however, listening to their experiences this year with school and COVID, I know that I definitely made the right decision in leaving the education world.  I'll just have to encourage another "virtual girls' night out" soon.

Finally, Our Christmas Cards Arrived

 I ordered my Christmas cards from Shutterfly the week after Thanksgiving just as I have done for the past decade or so.  Over the years we had tried a newsletter or a card with one photo, but lately everyone has liked the multi-photo card with an area on the back to write what we had been up to during the year.  Meg and Doug helped me make 2020's with Brett and Cam proofreading it.  We were excited to send it out as we had focused on the positives of the year.  I was happy when I saw that "my orange box" had shipped on December 6th thinking that my cards would arrive within a week.  

Somewhere along the way, however, they got stuck in the nightmare that has become the United States Post Office.  I checked everyday, but they never moved.  Finally on the 11th they made it to Atlanta.  I waited until the 15th and then contacted Shutterfly.  They asked me to wait two more days and then they would offer a refund.  I noticed within a couple of hours of me "chatting" with them my cards moved once again to Greenfield, Indiana.  It took longer than two days, but I did finally receive our Christmas cards a week late.  I was thrilled as I had time to send them out before the holiday.  I worked most of today on them and was able to get 63 of the 75 addressed and ready to mail.  I was proud of that as I usually spread them out over several days.  It's been a strange year, but if all that we have had to deal with was a delay in with our Christmas cards, then I'd say it's been pretty good.

Thankful to Be Home Today

 I spent the majority of yesterday outside of the Heinisch home first going shopping and then at Cam's tennis match.   With those activities and my trips to the post office this week I was thankful to spend the day at home today.  I had noticed on my outings this past week that there were a lot less mask wearers than there had been earlier in the month.  The post office was the worst.  None of the workers had a mask on correctly and several just didn't wear one.  Some of the customers had them on, but social distancing was nearly impossible with the small size of the lobby.  On our shopping trip today, Menards was still relatively COVID safe, but Martin's was a joke.  I saw more people without a mask or wearing it incorrectly today than I had the past month.  While Meg and I were in the produce aisle, four high school students came in maskless, fake coughing and yelling "I have COVID."  Although I realized that they weren't putting us in harm's way, it was definitely disrespectful and rude to those who had become sick or had lost a loved one to the virus.  Meg said that she really wanted to shout, "We don't care if you wear a mask for COVID, but could you at least put one on to hide your acne covered face."  I would have loved to see that.  It was easier to social distance at last night's tennis match, but we still found that quite a few family members and players did not wear masks in the lobby.  

Thus, I was pretty much done with the public by the end of Friday night and was thankful for a day at home today.  I watched football with Cam, played Ticket to Ride with Doug, took a walk, caught the ending of Mandalorian with Cal and started Sound of Music with Meg.  She was also able to have Sarah over for a few hours to celebrate her birthday.  Doug and I even tried to have a bonfire, and although it wouldn't start, it was still a wonderful, relaxing day at home.

Tennis Tournament Time

 Cameron found out from his tennis instructor that there was a Junior USTA tennis tournament this weekend at Eastlake in Elkhart.  He was highly interested in playing, so Doug called to get more information - amount of matches, age groups, COVID restrictions, etc.  Once he was satisfied with the answers I signed him up with the added bonus of finding out that the boys would actually be playing Warsaw.

Cameron was excited about the tournament.  He hadn't had an official match since the end of September, but he had played with his teammates after school and had been taking tennis lessons weekly since the season ended.  He was definitely nervous, but highly interested in testing his skills on the court.  His first match was at 6:15.  His glasses had broken at school earlier in the day.  After realizing that I wouldn't be able to easily fix them, we frantically searched the house for his spare pair.  He said that he could play without them, but I knew that he had really appreciated them during the regular season.  That's when we decided that the best option was good old duct tape.  It worked well and he was able to wear them throughout the night.

Doug took Cameron to the first match and called to give us updates.  Cameron had lost the first three games in the first set, but came back to tie it at 5-5.  Doug was extremely impressed with his serve.  Cameron went on to win the first set 7-5 only to soon find himself down in the second 0-3 again.  He couldn't quite recover this time losing 4-6.  The third set was a tiebreak with first to ten games winning the match.  Cam and his opponent went back and forth until Cameron finally went up 9-8 only needing one more game to win the match.  Thankfully, he held serve and moved on to the second round at 9 p.m. this evening.

Doug called at the end of the first match to see if we wanted to watch Cam's second one.  Meg and I drove over and arrived just before it started.  Cam's opponent was better than the first one he played and it took him several games to adjust to the new pace of play.  Once he figured him out, however, Cameron began to give him a very competitive match which did not reflect in the 6-0, 6-2 loss.  We celebrated his return to the court with a late night dinner of Buffalo Wild Wings.  

Where Is Everything?

 In all of the years that we have been ordering Christmas gifts online this one has been the worst for timely deliveries.  We had heard that it might be a problem due to the increased number of Americans placing orders online this year, but we didn't realize that it would cause the problems that it has.  The items I ordered on Cyber Monday were not effected, but the Christmas gifts that Doug and Meg ordered from Kohls on December 2nd still haven't all arrived.  Meg said she checked today and it said that one of the packages was in Canada.  The tracking on a gift I ordered for Cal said that it arrived at the Syracuse Post Office on December 11th.  Last night it was sent to Indianapolis and this morning it was in South Bend with an expected delivery of tomorrow.  Hopefully, it will arrive in time for me to wrap it and get it under the tree on Christmas Eve.  I would be extremely happy with that as the rubber bands that I sent from the orthodontist to Meg in Bloomington still haven't arrived.  They were supposed to be there Monday as I mailed them last Wednesday.  Brett hasn't seen them as of today, but the good news was that the license plate for his new CR-V finally came in the mail.  He had registered his car on November 13th with the expectation from the license branch that it would arrive in two weeks.  Even Amazon hasn't been as reliable as usual.  We still have not received a package that was shipped on December 5th.  For the past week it has said that it was out for delivery in New Jersey.

Out of all of the missing packages the most frustrating has been our Christmas cards.  When I ordered them on December 2nd it was estimated that they would be here between the 9th and 13th.  That was a little later than I liked to send them out, but I was hopeful that they would arrive closer to the 9th than the 13th.  They shipped on December 6th, but had been sitting in Atlanta since the 11th.  I finally contacted Shutterfly about it.  They said to give it until the 17th and they would then offer a refund.  I noticed shortly after that they were sent to Greencastle, Indiana.  Hopefully, that would get them here by the beginning of next week and I would still be able to get them out on time.

We realize that this has been a challenging year for a lot of people, so our shipping problems aren't that big of a deal.  They were just completely unexpected.  I obviously would have spent more to get our Christmas cards here earlier and would have definitely sent Meg's rubber bands by priority mail had I realized the big delay.  As long as Cal's computer from Plante Moran arrives by January 4th, everything else can wait.  

She Made It!!

 I talked to Meg several times last night and early this morning.  She was scheduled to come home from Bloomington today and unfortunately, several inches of snow was predicted to fall on her route.  Meg had never driven the trip alone, so we were both worried about her traveling on I-465 with hazardous weather conditions.  Thankfully, the snow arrived earlier than it was supposed to this morning.  By 1 p.m. it had moved out of central Indiana and Meg was able to leave Bloomington by 1:30.  Nick met her south of Indy to travel along I-465 with her just to make sure.  We appreciated him doing that.  Meg called once she got to US 31 to let us know that all of the roads were clear.  She was home by 5 p.m.   She said that it was a long, boring trip, but otherwise uneventful.  We were happy to hear that and glad to have her home.

I helped Meg unpack her car before she took a really long shower.  She planned on spending the evening unpacking and studying for her last final of the semester, Macroeconomics.  She enjoyed her time in Bloomington and the amount of hours she was able to clock in at work.  She also got to spend several shifts with Brett which was a lot of fun.  Overall, Meg was happy to be home in her own room for a couple of weeks wrapping gifts, Facetiming her friends, playing Wii with all of us and watching movies with Nick on Disney + group watch.  Looking forward to a relaxing Christmas break.

Exciting News

 Brett and Meg texted me this morning to let me know that they were being offered the COVID-19 vaccine early due to their employment at Bell Trace.  We were all excited about the news, but wanted to do some research first.  Although it had seemed that the vaccine was rushed through in only eight months time, scientists had been working on one like it for several years. Therefore, we weren't concerned about the safety of it as there had been numerous studies done on that.   We were more worried that they would be able to infect us once they received it.  Thankfully, I was on a virtual call with Dr. Freeze this morning and she assured me that that wasn't the case as they wouldn't be given a live vaccine.  They would still need to wear masks since they could still catch the virus, but even if they were infected, they would just have a mild case or an asymptomatic one.  That did mean that they could be carriers and pass it on to us.  Thus, until Doug and I were vaccinated, we would keep wearing masks in our home.  

Even though that was the case, we were all extremely excited that Brett and Meg would be some of the first to receive the vaccine in Indiana.  That would keep them safe and help curb outbreaks at Bell Trace.  It would also put our family one step closer to moving past this pandemic and getting back to our normal routines.  Not everyone has agreed with us about the vaccine and there were several that worked with Brett and Meg that decided not to sign up for early access.  We respect their decision, but not the opinions of those that have posted ignorant memes and false information about the vaccine on social media.  As of yesterday over 300,000 Americans had died due to the coronavirus.  It's time to put an end to this and save those who are most vulnerable.  I'm proud of Meg and Brett for thinking of more than just themselves.  Can't wait for all of us to have the same opportunity.  

Becoming Grandparents, Not So Fast

Several events have happened recently that have gotten Doug and I talking about the eventuality of us becoming grandparents.  Our own children have talked about marriage and having children one day, but none are in a place in their lives that they are ready for either.  Brett and Cal have just started their careers, Meg is not even halfway through her college education, and Cam, well, that's not even a discussion yet.  Maybe because none of them are ready to be parents, neither Doug nor I are interested in becoming grandparents yet.  We have watched too many couples of all ages have children before they are emotionally, financially or physically ready.  It is not only hard on the parents, but it can also lead to lifelong problems for the child.  We would hate to see any of our children or grandchildren be put into that situation.  The other issue that we see arise is that due to parenting problems the grandparents are left to raise their grandchildren.  There is nothing that harms a family relationship more than having a grandparent "parent" their grandchildren.  It blurs boundary lines and at times causes issues between the grandparents and their own adult children.  

We have explained our opinion to Brett, Cal, Meg and Cameron.  They completely understand that by the time Cameron graduates from high school we will have had a Heinisch child in our home for twenty-eight years and will be ready for the next adventure in our life.  We plan to move somewhere warmer, travel, and expand our interests, activities and knowledge.   We will also enjoy being parents to four adult children watching them navigate life and will be supportive without being a caregiver.  I know that I have heard from several people that being a "grandparent is the best thing that could ever happen to you."  I don't ever see myself feeling that way.  I will definitely love any and all of my grandchildren, but I hope that the best thing that ever happened to me was raising the Heinisch children with Doug and in turn watching them raise their own children with their significant other.  

A Rare Visitor

 It's pretty rare that we have a visitor in our home.  Besides HM and Nick, we really haven't had anyone in the house since the summer.  Cam and Joey wanted to get together this weekend, however, so we decided to sit down and come up with a way to make it work.  We weren't ready for Cam to go on an outing with anyone yet, but we were up for letting him have a friend over.  We had set up the basement for Cal, Meg and Cam to have visitors, we just hadn't really tried it yet.  We did ask for Joey to wear a mask when he was hanging out with Cam and were thankful that he had no problem with our request.  In the spirit of NFL Sunday he even wore his Packers one.  The boys had a lot of fun this afternoon  They played ping pong, watched football, shot baskets outside and enjoyed their time together.  We were so glad to play host and hope to do it again soon. 

At Least Some Teams Were Able to Play

 It wasn't our typical Saturday as there was no IU football to watch, but we made the best of it by keeping up with all of the Big Ten games that weren't cancelled due to COVID.  Northwestern won in a blow out and Rutgers beat Maryland in overtime. The game that was most exciting tonight, however, didn't have anything to do with the Midwest.  LSU beat Florida with a last second field goal that was only made possible because a Gators defender threw one of the Tigers players cleat resulting in an unsportsmanlike penalty.  Cam was watching when it happened and couldn't believe it.  Florida's loss would hopefully put IU above them in the rankings tomorrow when the polls were released.  After a week of disappointing Hoosier football news that would be fantastic.

We didn't just watch football all day.  Cam and Doug played basketball while I wrapped Christmas gifts.  The three of us also then played ping pong as well as a round of Ticket to Ride Italy.  In the evening Doug and I started the Charlie Brown Christmas puzzle while Cam joined Meg and her friends for a night of Among Us on the computer.  It was a nice Saturday at home, but we did miss watching the Hoosiers play.  Hopefully they will be back next weekend for the last game of the season.

A Bonfire in December

 Tonight Doug and I were able to have a bonfire in the backyard much as we did most of the summer and fall.  It was definitely the latest that we had ever had one and we enjoyed it immensely.  It had been a busy week for both of us and it was nice just to relax and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather.  

The Heinisch children had a packed week as well.  Cam not only had virtual and in person learning, but also played ultimate frisbee after school, had a tennis lesson, practiced his driving skills and went to the orthodontist.  Meg worked at Bell Trace, attended virtual class, studied for tests and celebrated her and Nick's two year anniversary with a trip to Indy to see the Christmas decorations and to pick up Giordano's.  Cal studied for the auditing section of the CPA, hung out with HM, exercised on all of his breaks and left this afternoon for a weekend in Bloomington.  Brett visited a new dentist, had a wellness check-up, worked at Storage Express and Bell Trace, went out with Sean and Andrew and spent time at the BMV looking for his errant license plate.  Although none of them enjoyed a bonfire this evening, all were excited for the  weekend to start.

Officially Done With the Orthodontist (for Cam At Least)

 This morning I was up bright and early to get Cameron to his orthodontist appointment.  For the first time all year I did not check on him after I woke him up.  At 7:18 I realized that I hadn't heard him moving up in his room.  I was panicked when I knocked on his door and he groggily answered back.  We had to leave at 7:20 to ensure that we were there by 8 a.m.  I got him up and made sure that he brushed his teeth before we left.  We finally made it out the door at 7:28.  Thankfully, I knew a shortcut, we were able to avoid the buses, and we didn't get stopped by a train.  We made it across Warsaw in thirty minutes without even speeding.  Cam was in the door by 8 a.m. 

I settled in for what I thought would be thirty or forty minutes of waiting when all of a sudden Cameron came back to the van.  One of the assistants was with him and said that he was done.  He could now switch to wearing his retainers at night and didn't need to come back unless there was an issue with the appliance.  I was surprised but happy to hear the news.  As we drove home, it dawned on me that Cameron had made it an entire year with losing either retainer.  When we left the orthodontist last December, we talked about the importance of keeping track of them and the expense of losing them.  In all honesty, I knew it was a long shot that we wouldn't have to replace one of the other some time before he moved to nightime wearing only.  

I told Cam today that I was impressed with his ability to keep track of his retainers and then we both laughed about the one time that he almost lost them.  Shortly after he began wearing them he had put them in a napkin at lunch and accidentally threw them in the compost pile at Bethany.  He realized what he had done right away and Tara told him where to look for them.  He said he almost threw up looking for them, but she reminded him that it was only leftover food so he should be fine.  He found them quickly and put them in his pocket until he could clean them at home.  Maybe that one incident was enough for him to never forget them again.  Either way I was proud of him for making it the year without any other issues.  Now if Meg could get to the retainer stage, that would be awesome.  

College Football Drama

 Yesterday the College Football rankings were announced and instantly Hoosier fans were frustrated.  Even though IU had beaten #16 Wisconsin over the weekend they did not rise in the poll and remained at number 12.  Further insult was added to this injury when the Big Ten athletic directors voted to change the rule allowing teams that only played five games on the season to participate in the Big Ten Championship game, thus, giving Ohio State the nod in the Big Ten East even though they were only 5-0.  IU fans were irrate and I couldn't blame them.  IU had to cancel their game with Purdue this coming Saturday due to COVID, but other than that they had played every weekend since the start of the late season.  They finished 6-1, beat three opponents that were ranked in the top twenty and only lost to OSU by 7 on the road.  It was a storybook season that seemed to be completely lost on those ranking the football teams and definitely on the media.  The thought of Ohio State losing out on playing for a national championship and the amount of money that the school would be giving up was the focus.  For those of us who had enjoyed the past several years of watching the Hoosiers grow from a nothing program to a national ranking it was extremely disappointing.  This sad situation has been the topic of conversation around the Heinisch Home and one that has left Cameron frustrated with the college football playoff program.  Cal had been telling us this for years.  We just didn't realize how bad it was until this season.  As one tweet put it best, "IU could beat each of the top four ranked college football teams and they'd still be rated 5th in the country."

Working from Home

Doug found out last week that he would have to work from home several days a week for the foreseeable future.  He wasn't surprised by this information due to the increase in positive coronavirus tests in our area.  He had already made plans about what he would do if he had to work from home, so making it possible wasn't too difficult.  This week he rearranged some furniture and set up a six foot table in the spare bedroom so that he could spread out his paperwork and still have room for his labtop.  He chose a folding chair to sit on and from there planned to make all of his calls, dial into meetings and complete his projects.  He said that it would strange to spend a work day at home, but that he could definitely make it do for the time being.  He would have Cam next door several days a week as well.  Thus, he could listen  to him yell at Madden on the PS4 and log on to zoom classes as well.  I know that I would enjoy eating lunch with Doug instead of talking with him on the phone during his break.  He would also save quite a bit of time on the commute as he only had to walk across the hall to his "office."  I realize that this situation would not be permanent, but for now it would be nice to have him home a couple of days a week. 

Just Not There Yet

 It was exciting to watch the news of a vaccine roll out in the United Kingdom today, especially since it was announced that it should be approved in the United States later this week.  I was glad to hear that at least one of the immunizations would be coming soon, but since doses would be limited and only those in healthcare or living in long term care facilities would be receiving them, it didn't really change much for us in the Heinisch home.  We still planned to mask up and social distance.  It would be great however, if the vaccine quickly helped reduce the hospital load especially in hard hit communities like the ones around us.  None of us really expect to receive it until March or April.  Brett and Meg had been emailed information through Bell Trace that they may be on a faster track than the rest of us to get the vaccine, but they won't know for at least another month.

For the past month I have only focused on news of the vaccine as it seemed to be the only way to rid our nation of COVID 19 especially now that millions of Americans had now become infected.  Even though it will still take time to become immunized, thinking about that has been a lot more positive than reading news of record setting positive counts and an overrun health care system.  For the most part avoiding the neagtive press has worked well for me, but there have been some days that I just can't get away from the pandemic.  Today was one of those.  First, I called to set up Cam's driving time with his instructor and found out that he had been diagnosed with the coronavirus.  He said that it had been a long, tough week, but he was starting to feel better.  I felt horrible for him and also relieved that I had decided to wait until after the holidays to start the driving lessons.  I had been extremely concerned that it was a high risk activity.  I guess that it was.  Then later in the evening I got word that Doug's college roommate was battling an intense case of the dreaded virus.  By the time I went to bed I was overwhelmed thinking about it all.  Meg must have sensed that as she texted me while I was sleeping, "Mom, I'm so glad that we wear masks around you and Dad."  It was a nice reminder that our soul healthcare goal for 2021 was for our family to make it to the other side of this pandemic.  Glad that our children feel the same way.

Movies, Puzzles & Football

 We had such a nice weekend at home that I hated to see it end.  Friday night we made dinner of some of our favorite appetizers including Hawaiian bread and spinach dip as well as cheese, sausage and crackers.  Doug even made Chex Mix for us to enjoy later in the evening while watching a movie with Cameron.  We had told him several times that one of our favorite thrillers was Harrison Ford's "What Lies Beneath."  He finally agreed to watching it with us and by the end of the night Cameron was as scared as we had been the first time we saw it almost twenty years ago.

Doug treated us to some wonderful dishes on Saturday as well with crab and cream cheese dip and  homemade pizzas. The afternoon was filled with Big Ten football and in the evening we were able to have a bonfire before watching The Good Liar.  It was a thriller as well, but a little more recent than Friday night's choice.  We had talked about seeing it in theaters a year ago, but the reviews were mixed.  We both thought it was fantastic and just like our previous choice it had a surprise ending.

There was more football on the screen Sunday afternoon which unfortunately included watching the Bears blow a lead against the Lions to lose their sixth game in a row.  After a walk, minestrone for dinner and a few games of Ticket to Ride, we started the movie "Ford vs. Ferrari."  Brett and Cal had both highly recommended it and although we didn't make it all the way through this evening, we definitely agreed with their opinion.  

With all of the time at home we were finally able to finish my birthday puzzle, Renoir's The Luncheon.  It was a beautiful painting but extremely challenging to put together.  We enjoyed working on it, however, and decided that it was the hardest of the year.  Even thought it took us three weeks to complete, it was nowhere near the difficulty of the other Renoir puzzle that we finished several years ago, Two Girls at the Piano.  There were nights that getting two pieces together was an accomplishment on that one.  We decided that next weekend we would take it easy on ourselves and start the Charlie Brown Christmas puzzle.  Already looking forward to it.

Almost Unreal

This week we found out that IU's star quarterback was out for the year with a torn ACL.  All of us in the Heinisch home were sad to hear that.  Michael Penix, Jr. had not finished the past two season due to injuries, so we had hoped that this year would be different.  Previously, IU football could rely on Peyton Ramsey to fill the void.  He was an outstanding quarterback himself and led the Hoosiers to a bowl game last year.  When Ramsey found out that he would not get the starting position for his last year in Bloomington he transferred to Northwestern where he has had a fabulous year leading the Wildcats to the top of the Big Ten West.

Therefore today, IU was scheduled to play Wisconsin with their "third string" quarterback, Jack Tuttle.  Although he was the Hoosier's highest rated quarterback recruit overall, he had only played limited minutes these past two years.  Needless to say we were all a little nervous especially when the odds makers gave the Badgers a fourteen point advantage even though they were ranked lower than IU in the BCS ratings.  All week long IU's coach, Tom Allen, spoke positively about his team and Tuttle's new role.  He was confident that his team would rise to the occasion and reminded everyone that the recievers were fantastic on their own.  All Tuttle had to do was get them the ball.

Thankfully, both Tom Allen and Cameron were correct in their prediction of an IU victory.  Jack Tuttle played well in his new position and the rest of the team rose to the challenge.  ESPN announcer's remind viewers multiple times that Wisconsin had won the previous ten meetings between the two teams with an average score of 51-15, but that didn't matter today.  IU won 14-6 and broke the longest running losing streak to ranked opponents on the road in the nation.  It was so much fun to watch, especially listening to the coach and team afterward.  Their hashtag has been #LEO (Love Each Other) these past two years and they definitley showed the nation today that they meant it.

Glad for the Experience & Spending Money

 Today was Cal's last day at his temporary accounting position.  He had told them that he could work two more weeks, but they didn't need him that long.  He was glad to be done and happy for the practical experience he gained before his real position started in January.  He was also pleased with the amount of money that he was able to save while working.  When he does have to move, he should be able to put that to good use.  

Cal's work ethich has been commendable.  Doug and I were extremely proud of his commitment to stay employed during the pandemic.  It would have been easy for him to just live off of unemployment until his career started with Plante Moran.  With the little bit of free time that he has left, he plans to study for the CPA, hang out with Hannah-Marie and watch our newest streaming app - HBO Max.  Tonight Cal celebrated by going to dinner with HM and Christmas shopping, a well deserved night out.

Driving Karma

I have spent a lot of time being taxied around by Cameron ever since he got his learner's permit in September.  I have been impressed with how well he has done in the driver's seat.  Even with this said, until yesterday, I had not let him drive to Warsaw as I wasn't ready for him to attempt state road 15.  Thankfully, we found a back way into the Warsaw Racquet Club avoiding the deadly highway, so Cameron  could get us to tennis safely yesterday.  Meg rode with us as well which was the first time he had had a passenger in the vehicle that wasn't Doug or I.   

During this critical learning time for Cameron I have tried my best to give him safe driving tips without becoming overbearing.  He knows what intersections are the most dangerous, when to accelerate on a turn, to come to a full stop at a stop sign and most importantly all of the places that are used as police traps on the way to Bethany Christian.  Today he may have learned the most valuable lesson of all and I didn't have anything to do with it.  While driving to school this morning, a car passed us in a 30 mile per hour residential area.  Cam was going the speed limit, but obviously the driver felt that he was in a hurry and couldn't obey the law.  Cam remarked that it was extremely unsafe especially since there were children in the area waiting for the school bus.  He was right, but neither of us were surprised by the driver's decision.  We went up the road a few miles more where the speed limit increased to 45 mph.  Another impatient driver decided to not only pass Cameron, but the car behind him as well all on a hill with a solid yellow line.  It was a little nerve racking, but Cam handled it well.  I asked him if he wanted to yell at the driver, "Hey, I'm going the speed limit."  He said no, he'd just think it instead.  I told him that I was secretly wishing there was a cop at the upcoming silos ready to give him a ticket.  We knew from previous trips that this was definitely a possible as we had seen several police officers hanging out there ready to slow down speeders.  We both laughed thinking about how great that would be when all of a sudden I saw the flashing lights.  Sure enough a police car had pulled over one of the traffice violators ahead of us.  We both quitely cheered as Cameron safely drove by the two cars on the side of the road.  It was the perfect way to learn a valuable driving lesson without even being told.  

Two Weeks at Home

 Meg arrived home the weekend before Thanksgiving to enjoy the holiday, see some friends and take care of a couple of doctor appointments.  She still had to study as only three of her six classes had ended before break, but thankfully the remaining ones were fairly easy with only macroeconomics to really worry about.  Due to COVID concerns she didn't get to see as many friends as she had hoped, but Nick did spend quite a few days here and she got to visit with Jackie in her poll barn looking at her new rabbits and puppies as well.  Meg was also able to give her her birthday gift, albeit a little early.  She had spent quite a bit of time working on it, and I was impressed with her crafting skills.  Meg also spent an evening playing "Who Among Us" through Zoom with several of her high school friends.  She had a lot of fun figuring out who the murderer was while catching up with everyone at the same time.  

Today Meg rode with us to Cam's tennis lesson.  She had an eye doctor appointment and thought I might have to be involved since we carry the insurance on her.  She pretty much took care of everything herself and all I had to do was call in with my credit card number.  She did send me a picture of her new frames which looked great on her.  Most importantly the eye doctor was able to change her prescription with the hope of cutting down on her migraines.  With this taken care of today and the orthodontist last week, Meg only had to make it to the dentist tomorrow to complete all of her medical appointments before she returned to Bloomington this weekend.  The added bonus of going with us today was ordering Moe's for lunch once Cam finished his tennis lesson as well.  

A Local Shake Up

 Last week we found out that the long time superintendent at Wawasee Community schools would be stepping down effective January 1st.  We were shocked by the abruptness of the decision, but not surprised overall.  There had been so much negative press this year about the Wawasee school system on social media that we expected it to be his last year.  There were two main topics that had seemed to be at the forefront of the dissatisfaction.  First, a group of parents were upset about the tax referendum.  Even though it didn't pass, complaints about poor timing and lack of fiscal responsibility in the past produced bitterness in the community.  Secondly, a petition was brought to the school earlier in the year asking for the resigination of the athletic director for inappropriate behavior with students.  It also claimed that the superintendent knew of the allegations but did nothing about it.  Although we did not know for sure that those were the reasons for the decision, they seemed to be the most logical choices.

We talked about the news mutiple times over the past few days.  The superintendent and his family were friends of ours from church.   Our children grew up with theirs and we enjoyed talking to them.  We obviously didn't want him to step down in a cloud of suspicion, but we couldn't disagree with the families who were upset with the school system.  We had had serious issues with the lack of safety at Wawasee and the absence of high academic standards.  Those concerns along with the poor treatment that I had received as a teacher had left us feeling skeptical about public education at least in our area.  The recent turn of events had made me at least feel as though others finally understood our frustrations.  We never needed our opinion validated or our decision to pull Meg and Cam out of the school system justified, but it was nice to know that the blinders had finally come off in our community.  Although none of this affects us anymore, I am interested in seeing what happens next.