Snow, Snow, Snow

 It has been such a mild winter that we almost forgot what it was like to have a big snowstorm.  That all changed last night as the predicted "blizzard of 2021" hit.  Although it wasn't quite a life changing event, we did get six inches of snow in a relatively short period.  Thankfully, it all happened on a Saturday night, so no one had to get out in the morning.  Doug was able to start on the driveway by 9 a.m. and our neighbor joined in to speed up the process with his ATV which was very much appreciated.  

Cal stayed at Grandma Jane's last night and adopted Grandpa's approach for shoveling - drive over the snow and flattened it until he could get out of the driveway.  It worked well until he got stuck.  It wasn't quite as bad as the time Grandpa got stuck in our yard, but it did take Cal fifteen minutes to get out.  

The snow did change Meg's plans.  She had wanted to go to West Lafayette today and see Nick before heading back to Bloomington.  The weather postponed that, but she didn't mind as it gave her one more day at home.  Meg was ready to go back to IU, but not quite ready to say goodbye to home.  We were glad to have one last day to play Mario Kart and watch a few more Seinfeld episodes with her.  

The next two weeks are supposed to provide more winter weather with snow showers and below zero temperatures.  As much as I have grown tired of the Indiana winters, I appreciate the fact that it arrived late this year.  At the end of the next round of winter weather,  we will only have four more weeks until spring with warmer temperatures and brighter sunshine just around the corner.  

Winston

 Cal offered to watch Winston for the weekend as the Lamles planned to be out of town.  Due to a miscommunication, Mike brought the Heinisch family's favorite canine to our home instead of Grandma Jane's where Cal was working virtually.  Robyn texted me right away to see if they needed to pick him back up and take him to Cal, but we said, "Absolutely not!'  Meg and I both knew that once Winston saw Cal he would be oblivious to the rest of us.  Thus, we were excited to have him to ourselves at least for a couple of hours.  

Unfortunately, Winston was not quite as happy about the situation.  He tolerated the attention from Meg and I pretty well, but spent most of his time searching the house for Cal.  When Meg found him sitting in the bathroom waiting for Cal after Cam turned on the shower, we realized that it was time to take him to his "best buddy."  Since Winston was carrying his leash with him wherever he went, Meg and Cam decided that the best way to get him to Cal was to walk him there.  They enjoyed the mild weather and arrived just as Cal finished with his meeting.  Both he and Winston were glad to be reunited once again and the rest of us could only wave goodbye as they headed inside.

We really have enjoyed spending time with Winston this winter.  He's a great dog to have around.  Part of the reason it is so fun to have him around is that we have never really seen a dog love anyone as much as Winston does Cal.  Maybe it's just his personality, but it sure seems that he would follow Cal anywhere.  Meg has told me multiple times, "I know dogs can't smile, but Winston definitely does when he sees Cal."  Doug and I still laugh about the time Cal and Winston drove past us while we were walking.  Winston sat shot gun looking like he was having the time of his life.  We realize that Winston may be this way with everyone that he knows well, but for those of us in the Heinisch home it has been fun to watch he and Cal interact.  We will definitely miss that when Cal moves to Chicago next month.  

"The Big Fat"

 Out of all of the guinea pigs the one that required the least amount of attention from the Heinisch family was Rizzo.  He always seemed content just to hang out by himself.  He tolerated attention from Meg and Cam but never asked for it.  He did not initiate interaction with his brother, Atmo, but didn't discourage it either.  All in all Rizzo seemed content to stay in his cage and eat, so much so that Cameron nicknamed his pet, "The Big Fat."

After Atmo died this past summer, Rizzo's behavior didn't change much.  He did seem to be lonelier, but didn't beg us for more attention.  We noticed that he did become louder about requesting his favorite treat, carrots.  That made sense to us as Atmo had always been the one squeaking at the side of the cage for attention and food.  Since Rizzo ate the majority of their food back then, it was no wonder that Atmo had begged more than his brother.  

Whether he has liked it or not, Rizzo has garnished more attention these past few months than he did in the past.  Although he still doesn't enjoy taking rides on the pig bed/sled like the other three did and tries to get back in his cage as soon as he is taken out, he has tolerated the newfound attention pretty well.  He does squeak for carrots every time he hears my voice and Cameron has blamed me multiple times for contributing to his obesity, but overall he has benefitted from the single life.  

With only him in the cage, Meg and I had noticed recently that Rizzo seemed to be making a pillow for himself when he slept.  At first he would fluff up a mound of his bedding in the corner of the cage and lay his head on that, then he started using the side of the bowl.  After seeing him do so several times, we decided to try putting a towel in his cage with him and lo and behold he crawled right over to it and put his head on it.  Now it has become a staple of his nightly routine.  There is still some debate between Cam, Meg and I on whether he likes the ball in his cage, but we all agreed that the towel seems to be a hit for now.  Whether he is getting older and likes propping his head up or is using it as a substitute for Atmo, we will never know.  Tonight Meg took this picture of him getting "ready for bed" and as cute as it was, all I kept thinking about was that we have to have the most pampered guinea pig in the world.  I guess that shouldn't surprise me too much.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

 Meg had an orthodontist appointment this morning and was pleased to hear that everything was progressing as planned.  Her teeth had been straightened months ago and her overbite correct last spring.  Since she had been missing four adult teeth, the final goal to reach was to close all of the gaps left when Meg's  baby teeth were removed in 2019.  The top spaces closed long ago, but the bottom two took quite a bit of time to follow suit.  Thankfully, the springs and wire that they put in place in November had taken hold and the bottom teeth had moved enough to start the discussion about when Meg would get her braces off.  

Before we left, the orthodontist made an appointment for her in April to see if the gaps continued to close.  If that happened then she would have impressions in May for a retainer and two weeks after that she would say goodbye to braces for good.   Meg and I were both thrilled as we thought that it would be longer than that.  Before today Meg had even told herself that as long as they were off by the time she graduated from college she would be happy.  Thankfully, that should not be the case and soon Meg will be brace free and able to eat popcorn once again.

The Eye Doctor

 Several times over the past six months Cameron had had an eye doctor's appointment rescheduled due to the ongoing pandemic.  We weren't too concerned about it as he didn't feel that his vision had changed much this past year.  The only issue that he was having had to do with the screw on his frames.  It had fallen out several times and was almost impossible for us to fix.  The eye doctor's office was great at repairing it free of charge, but it had become an inconvenience as the screw always seemed to fall out when he really needed his glasses.  The last time they broke was minutes before a tennis tournament.  Thankfully we were able to use duct tape for a quick fix, but after that we decided that a new pair was in order.

Cameron's appointment today was relatively quick as his prescription hadn't really changed much.  The hardest part of the visit for Cam was choosing a new frame.  There were a lot to pick from in various styles.  In the end he found a pair that looked great on him and that were covered by our insurance.  I was glad for both as I wanted him to get a pair that he liked and was happy to use our insurance as I wasn't sure how much longer we would have it.  

Meg had ridden along with us and gave a thumbs up to the new pair as well.  We celebrated the long awaited appointment with Panda Express for lunch.  Meg had never eaten there before and really liked it.  Cam ate his on the way back to school.  He was hoping to miss all of Spanish, but had about twenty-five minutes left once he returned.  We didn't have a long time at home, but we were able to drop off Panda Express to Cal before heading back to get Cameron.   It was a lot of time in the car today, but well worth it.

First Snow Day of the Year

 Today was the first snow day of the year for Cameron.  He could have had one last week when Wawasee cancelled and Bethany only delayed, but I went ahead and took him to school.  Doug and I decided earlier in the year that it was best for him to go whenever possible since he had already spent enough time at home this school year and last.  Cameron has never really enjoyed e-learning and today wasn't much different.  Sitting in his room following along with classes on Zoom had lost its thrill long ago and seemed even more tedious today.  We completely understood his feelings.  In the past ten months he's spent almost as much time in online school as he has in person.

Today's cancellation made me think a lot about snow days of the past.  Before each student had a device to work on outside of the classroom, snow days meant school was completely cancelled for the day.  I remembered playing games with the Heinisch children and watching some of our favorite movies together including "Snow Day."  If it was warm enough everyone went outside for part of the afternoon to build snowmen or at least shovel the drive.  If the roads were relatively clear we even made a fast food run for lunch.

Computers changed snow days as they became e-learning days.  Cameron had become accustomed to those as Bethany had been using them on treacherous weather driving days since he started as a student in 5th grade.  He would still have school work, but it would be less intense and less time consuming with independent assignments for each class.  There was still time for games and some classes even assigned snow activities as a requirement for the day.  Virtual learning changed snow days once again as Bethany students were required to log in for each class period for a Zoom meeting thus taking up a full day school day.  Although we have appreciated the consistency in Cameron's education, this has meant no free time on snow days.  We miss that as does Cameron, but life lately has changed a lot of old routines.  Instead of complaining about it, we have adjusted as well as could be expected knowing that one day Cameron will be able to tell his own children "back in my day we didn't even get a break from school during a global pandemic."

Team Body Project to the Rescue

This winter we have had two separate incidents in which our elliptical needed repaired.  Thankfully, we had purchased an extended warranty for it so it didn't cost us anything to have it fixed.  It did take some time, however, for the parts for it to arrive and the repairman to get us on a schedule, leaving it useless for several weeks.

Although the non-functioning elliptical affected Doug the most, he wasn't the only one who needed to find alternative ways to exercise this winter.  Normally, I don't mind walking outside in all kinds of weather, but this past month it has been windier than usual making temperatures feel colder than they actually were.  The snow that we received at the first of the year also took quite some time to melt, so the sidewalks were at times too slippery to walk on easily.  Thus, I was also looking for a way to exercise indoors as well.  

Meg had suggested trying YouTube for a low impact, cardio workout.  She had used several different videos during the fall semester since the gyms on campus were closed and recommended a few to try.  Doug and I both quickly began to appreciate one more than any others.  Team Body Project had multiple videos for all levels.  The instructor was enthusiast and encouraging.  The videos could be adjusted from beginnings to experts.  Those working out with him demonstrated ways to alter the exercises to fit all body types and there were even videos for those who only wanted to work out standing up, i.e. no burpees, sit-ups or crunches.  Team Body Project was the perfect solution for both of us.  With the elliptical in working condition once again, Doug has eased off the virtual workouts.  I have stayed with them, however, especially since I do not have to freeze outside to exercise and I actually have found working out to be a lot more enjoyable.  

IU Basketball Disappointment

The Hoosier fans in the Heinisch family have become completely disillusioned with the men's basketball program as of late.  It all started four years ago when IU decided to part ways with head coach, Tom Crean.  It wasn't completely unexpected as according to key alumni they had had a lackluster year and had "underperformed" in the NCAA tournament previously.  Doug, Cal and I were extremely disappointed as we were huge Crean fans.  He had brought the Hoosiers out of the Big Ten basement with an enthusiasm that hadn't been seen in years.

Unfortunately, the plan to replace Crean was worse than we even dreamed.  The last four years of watching Archie Miller coach have been excruciating.  At first I tried to be patient.  I believed that once the team adjusted to his style of play they would improve.  That never happened.  He recruited the top players in Indiana just as promised but did nothing with them.  Instead of bringing a stellar defense to the program, his teams instead became known for their lack of offense including long draughts of scoreless minutes.  This past week was the perfect example of his leadership.  After a big win against a top ranked Iowa team on the road, the Hoosiers lost to a low level Rutgers team at home today.  Thankfully, none of us expected much.  We had grown accustomed to losing.

Fortunately, after the basketball game we were able to watch the Buccaneers play the Packers later in the day.  Seeing Tom Brady defeat Aaron Rodgers in the NFC championship was exactly what we needed to erase the pain of another Hoosier loss.  Once football was over I thought a lot about the differences in the two teams.  The most notable was that Tampa Bay built their offense around a player that knew how to win.  They didn't try to force him to change to meet their needs.  Brady believed in his team and coaches and they believed in him.  That was something that hadn't happened at IU during the Archie Miller era.  I no longer have faith that it ever will.  

Adult Siblings

 I wasn't blessed to have an adult sibling, so I do not have first hand knowledge of the joys and/or pains of that type of relationship.  The only experience I have has been through observation of family and friends.  Although I have seen several tight bounds between sisters that I know and wonderful working relationships among brothers, overall I have found quite a few adult sibling relationships to be wrought with jealousy, negativity and greed.  It has always been amazing to me that siblings could treat each other poorly.  Gossiping, backstabbing, and hatefulness seem to run rampant in some families.  I have never understood this behavior among others let alone family members.  

I wonder if the problem stems from childhood and if parents could be the cause.  It appears to me that some mothers and fathers clearly have favorites in a family or have financially given more to one of their children without explanation.  Maybe that has caused resentment that has turned into hate speech later in life.  I am thankful that Doug and his brothers do not fall into this category and enjoy listening to Doug's comments on their phone calls and texts. 

Most importantly I hope that our own children continue the lighthearted, supportive relationship that they have with one another.  On Thanksgiving Day I reminded them all that one day one of them would make more money than the others or perhaps have a better marital relationship than the rest.  It was up to them to not let jealousy or envy get in the way of maintaining their sibling bond.  In the end they will most likely all outlive Doug and I.  They will become the source of each others shared memories.  There will never be anyone else who will be able to relate to them as a sibling could, talk about their favorite vacations with or rib each other on bad haircuts and over zealous miniature golf rounds.  I hope that we have given them the foundation to keep that bond positive.  They definitely are four wonderful, unique individuals and I know they appreciate that about one another.  

The Waterpik Family

The week that lockdown started Cameron and I were scheduled to have a dental check up.  The office called to cancel the appointments without word of when we could reschedule.  Once they did open back up, we decided as a family to wait and see if dentist offices were the super spreaders that bars, churches, gyms and other offices had become.  

During that time period I was more than worried about our family's dental health but wasn't sure what to do about it.  When Brett finally decided to go ahead and visit the dentist, we found out from him that it was relatively safe from a COVID stand point.  It wasn't quite the orthodontist level of PPE wearing and iodine rinses, but overall I felt that we could schedule the rest of the Heinisch children for a check up.

The other message that Brett relayed from his visit was that missing a check up had left him in need of changes to his dental routine.  As he talked about his concerns I remembered that at Meg's last visit her hygienist had recommended a Waterpik.  Meg said that she really liked it and thought that it helped tremendously especially since she still had braces.  I offered to get Brett one and after trying it he echoed Meg's sentiments.

Since both of them had a favorable opinion of using the dental tool and I was still waiting to go back to the dentist, I decided to ask for one for Christmas.  I am so glad that I did.  Over the years I had broken multiple molars from grinding my teeth and had to have several crowns to repair them.  It was a lot harder to take care of those than my regular teeth.  I was floored when I first tried out the Waterpik.  It solved all of the issues that I was having in keeping my teeth cleaned.  I have told Doug at least a dozen times since December just how much I love the new tool. 

Knowing how well it had worked for Brett, Meg and I, I asked Cameron if he was interested in one.  Cameron just looked at me and rolled his eyes.  As he walked up the stairs I heard him say, "Oh, great, now Mom's obsessed and we're going to become the Waterpik family."  I backed off after that as I didn't want him to join Doug and Cal in thinking that I was the crazy tooth lady.  Who knows, maybe one day they'll join my enthusiasm for teeth cleaning, but something tells me not to count on it.  

Happy 16th Birthday Cameron

Today was Cameron's 16th birthday.  Since we couldn't have his traditional night out with friends to celebrate, we had to come up with others ways to commemorate the big day.  Meg spent quite a bit of time shopping online for the perfect gifts.  Doug picked up Antonio's for dinner and cheesecake for dessert.  I decorated the house and even found the same SpongeBob tablecloth that he had at his 6th birthday party.  Cal got off of work just in time to join the celebration and Brett called Cam at the end of the night to see how it went.

Cam had a great day at school as the teachers and his friends at Bethany showered him with posts, pictures and birthday wishes.  He spent the afternoon on the phone with his friends playing games.  The seafood ravioli he ordered was delicious and he loved the presents he received - wireless headphones, Kohl's gift card, money, Racko, a lime green hoodie and drawing pencils.  He was impressed that Brett found a Lions sign and pennant for him and enjoyed trying out his new miniature drone and trivia game.  

I was really concerned that Cameron's birthday wouldn't be as fun for him as in years past since we couldn't host a party.  In the end I had nothing to worry about as he told us that it really was an awesome day complete with an IU basketball victory over Iowa to end the evening.  I was glad that we could be a part of his special day.  Seeing how happy he was made my heart smile.  

Two Down - Four To Go

 In early December both Meg and Brett texted me to let me know that they would be eligible to receive some of the first COVID-19 vaccinations in Indiana.  Brett and I had talked about it as a possibility because of their work at Bell Trace, but we didn't think that it would happen the first week the vaccination was approved.  Neither one of them asked me for my opinion.  They both decided that they were going to sign up.  They felt it was the best way to keep the residents that they worked with safe and to help speed up the end of the pandemic.  I was extremely proud of them and impressed with their demonstration of empathy and compassion for others.  

Yesterday Meg received her final dose and this morning Brett did as well.  Both said that it was the longest needle that they had ever seen and that their arm hurt afterward.  Overall, the process, however, was an easy one, the side effects were mild and both were glad to be done.  Our hope is that the rest of us will be vaccinated soon. Just like Brett and Meg we will sign up as soon as possible.  An end to the pandemic seems to be on the horizon and it cannot get here fast enough.   

COVID & The Heinisch Family

 When Cal moved back home at the end of May we thought that it would only be for a few months.  His auditing position at Plante Moran in Chicago was set to begin in September and most of his friends planned to move out of the area by July.  That quickly changed, however, when the start date for his new career was moved to January.  Cal, Doug and I spent quite a bit of time talking about the next step for Cal.  We weren't worried about how he would keep busy as we knew he'd be able to work part time and study for the CPA.  We were more concerned about how Cal could live in the Heinisch home and remain autonomous while keeping the rest of us safe from COVID.

It took a lot of rearranging and researching, but we finally came up with a solution.  We turned a portion of the basement in a studio apartment for Cal, gave him his own bathroom and asked him to only access the house through the front door (which none of the rest of us ever used.)  We closed his vents off to the rest of the house and even bought an air purifier to use in the main area of our home.  Thus, Cal was able to live happily in our home and interact with our family while social distancing from us.  We didn't have to worry about who he had been with or what he had been exposed to at work, and he could still feel like part of the Heinisch family.

We were all comfortable with the living arrangement until Halloween.  Our county and those around us started to explode with positive cases and Cal was actually directly exposed.  Even though he tested negative after that incident we decided from that point on that we would add an extra layer of protection in our home by asking the Heinisch children to wear a mask around us.  Everyone was in agreement that it was for the best as more and more people that we knew had come down with the virus or had to quarantine because they were exposed to it.  Cam and Meg both said that they actually preferred wearing masks at home so they didn't have to worry as much about getting either Doug or I sick.  

Fast forward to late December and a text from Cal letting me know that one of his friends had tested positive for the coronavirus.  Cal was more than concerned that he had contracted the virus as he had spent the previous weekend with him and his friends.  A positive test confirmed it that afternoon and Cal made plans on what to do next.  Since my parents had left for Florida several days beforehand, Cal suggested living at their home until his ten day isolation period was over.  Everyone agreed that we could make that work.  Grandpa Cutes gave him the internet password so that he could work from their home and I packed up all of the groceries and supplies that I thought he might need before I could get to the store.  Cal stopped at home after his test to grab his laptop, clothes and toiletries and headed off into the great unknown.

I was extremely nervous for the first five days that he was gone.  I was concerned that all of our efforts to keep the rest of us safe had not worked.  I was also worried that he would get extremely sick and that we wouldn't know right away since he was living on his own.  Thankfully, we only had to check on him once when he didn't respond to our texts and phone calls for an entire evening.  We were happy to find out that he was just extremely tired and had fallen asleep immediately after work.  

In the end Cal's experience with COVID was definitely mild.  Besides being exhausted, having some congestion and not being able to taste anything for a few days, there wasn't much to it.  In fact he said that if his friend hadn't tested positive that he probably wouldn't have even realized that he had it.  I  was glad for that as he had had so many issues with asthma in his younger days.  As much as he hated isolating, we all felt fortunate that he had Grandma's entire house to utilize for the two weeks.  Most of all I was also extremely thankful that all of protocols that we had been put in place in the Heinisch home last summer had paid off as none one of the rest of us tested positive for the virus. Now if we could all keep it that way until we get vaccinated, that would be a true blessing.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

 Today was a federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Every year I have posted about Dr. King on social media highlighting his fight for equality.  His dedication to this cause was awe inspiring to me and his desire to make the world a better place should be a goal that all of "God's creatures" should aspire to reach.  

This year I decided not to post about equality.  There were so many posts from individuals that I know last year never even paid attention to the holiday.  The long winded reminders to fight for freedom for all races lacked substance and seemed to be taken from a meme on Instagram.  This wasn't the first time during the pandemic that I had noticed the "better than thou" posts flooding social media, but they just felt too cliched this year.  

I thought about posting nothing, but as a history major Dr. King had always been one of the Americans that I admired most.  It wasn't just about his fight for equality, but the fact that he actually did something about it.  His "dream" wasn't just a speech, it was a way of life for him. Therefore, I decided to take time and read his quotes on topics other than equality, like love, religion, science, and peace.  I found two that I thought were perfect for today.  As I made my post I hoped that liberals would take heed of the first one and conservatives would take the second to heart.  I knew that probably wouldn't happen, but just reading the words out loud made feel there was hope for a better American than what I see today.

“Let no man pull you so low as to hate him."

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

Thankful for the memory of Dr. Martin King, Jr. and his wisdom that rings true to this day. No monument could ever be erected big enough to honor the life he gave in his quest for peace.

Bucs Win!

 When Doug and I first met it was obvious that his favorite NFL player was Walter Payton.  He grew up near Chicago and watched the famed running back play, so it only made sense.  Almost no one back then, however, would have guessed who Doug's second favorite player would become - Tom Brady.   As an avid Big Ten football fan and a proud supporter of IU football, there were many seasons that Doug had to choose a different team than the Hoosiers to cheer for as Indiana spent many years irrelevant in the conference championship race.  IU rarely made it to a bowl and even when they did they lost well more than they won.  Thus, Doug's interest in Tom Brady dated back to the quarterback's Michigan years and only grew when he became the dominant force in the NFL with the New England Patriots.  They won six championships with Brady at the helm.  Last year it looked like he had peaked and most football enthusiasts thought that he would retire at the end of the 2019 season, especially when his long time coach let it be known that it was time for the famous Patriot to find another team.   

Last spring, however, the news out of the NFL world changed with reports that Tom Brady still wanted to play.  Rumors surrounded teams that were interested in him and ones that he would be interested in playing for in the fall of 2020.  The rumor that most caught the Heinisch family's attention was that Brady was thinking about moving to Chicago.  Unfortunately, that was short lived as he announced that he and his family were ready for warmer temperatures.  Tampa Bay was the lucky team to have peaked his interest and soon Tom Brady was in a Buccaneers uniform.  Doug was happy to hear that he would play another year and I was glad to have an idea of what to get him for his birthday - a Bucs shirt.

The year started off slow for Tampa Bay and their newest player and with that the amount of haters that criticized him for not retiring only grew.  None of this surprised Doug as he knew that it would take some time for the Brady to adjust to a new team even though several of his former Patriot teammates followed him to the sunshine state.  Doug was also not shocked by the amount of negative press that Brady was receiving.  There were many in the country who did not share Doug's enthusiasm for the future hall of famer.  In fact nothing garnished more negative comments in our area then when Doug wore his Patriots jersey out to dinner and I could definitely remember a few times that Meg and I were booed when we wore it to school on jersey day.  

Fortunately, the Bucs started to peak just as playoff season began and tonight knocked off a favored New Orleans Saint team that was saying goodbye to their own long time quarterback, Drew Brees.  Everyone in our family was surprised by the upset except for Cameron.  He had said all day that Tampa Bay would win.  Thankfully, he was correct and next week we will all get to watch Tom Brady take on Aaron Rogers and the Packers.  For the Bears and Brady fans in the Heinisch home, nothing would be sweeter than a victory in Lambeau Field and a tenth trip to the Super Bowl for Doug's favorite quarterback.

Blackbirds Singing in the Dead of Night

 Ok, so we really don't have any blackbirds in our yard that like to sing at night as the Beatle wrote about, but we have had quite a few other birds around our home over the years.  I have always enjoyed feeding them and this year has been no different.  The one thing that has changed, however, has been the frequency of our feathered friends.  I had noticed about a month ago that we hadn't been getting as many birds at our feeders as in previous months.  That seemed strange to me as in the past our trees had been filled with Wrens, Cardinals, Doves, Finches, Woodpeckers and even the occasional Oriole.  

The only time that I had seen the quantity of birds that we had this fall was when I put shelled peanuts out.  The treat had always brought a flock of Blue Jays and that had not changed, but it was also the only time that we had seen other birds as well.  We loved feeding the Blue Jays and watching them crack their peanut shells on a branch in our front yard.  Doug had been timing them on his virtual working days at home to see how quickly they could empty a feeder and most of the time they had cleared it out within a half hour.  

While watching them we remembered that Uncle Maury had told us before that Blue Jays were the ones who let the other birds know that it was safe to eat.  Knowing that I decided to research the cause of the issue in our yard.  It didn't take me long as all I had to do was follow the tracks around my feeders.  Sure enough the "Bumpus' Hounds" from next door were running through the side of our yard barking at every animal in their path.  It wasn't the first time that I had been frustrated with the neighbors dogs, but I realized that there wasn't much that I could do to stop their antics.  Therefore, I decided that I'd just have to buy more peanuts.  

Interent Blues

In December we received a notice from Mediacom that they would be increasing our internet speed.  We were glad to hear the news, but since we had never really had problems with our internet it wasn't much of a priority to us.  Shortly, after the transition, however, that changed.  Videos started buffering and downloads became slower and slower.  Asurion even contacted us via email with a way to check the speed as they had noticed an issue on our cell phones.  Once we tested it we realized that we did have an issue as our speed was supposed to be at 50 and it was actually at 3.  Unplugging the router did help, but for the most part we still had problems several times a day.  

A few days after the internet test, we received an email from Mediacom.  They offered to replace our modem for free as they felt that our old one was not be able to handle the increased speed.  We agreed and they shipped the new modem immediately.  I was a little nervous about the transition, but overall I knew that I was pretty knowledgeable when it came to technology resolving multiple problems at home this past year.  

The modem arrived this morning and I began the installation process.  After following all of the steps I easily replaced the old one and got the computer up and running via ethernet.  I was pleased with the progress until I tried to set up the wifi.  The instructions on it were a little confusing, so I called Mediacom.  They were helpful to a point, but since the router wasn't from them, they were limited with what they could do. After trying a lot of different configurations the best option seemed to be either buy a new router or have Mediacom inact the built in router in the modem and come out next week to install extenders in our home to increase its capability.  I decided in the end to try both options.  I set up the appointment and then spent time researching a router through Target that would work in a 4000 square foot home.  I finally found one and ordered it in time that we could pick it up after we got Cameron from school.  

In the end it took me three hours to complete all of this and I realized that I needed to get in the shower immediately or we would be late to Bethany.  As I got ready something that the person with the Mediacom tech department said popped into my head.  Before he hung up he said to try Netgear and see if they had any ideas on fixing our router.  I didn't have a lot of time, but Googled my exact problem and instantly the solution showed up.  I hurried and reset the router's radio band and within ten minutes Meg and I were able to once again reconnect phones, laptops and televisions.  I was thrilled.  Doug cancelled the Mediacom appointment for me and I went ahead and picked up the router.  We decided that it would be best to have a backup in case this became a recurring problem.  With Cal and Doug working at home and Meg and Cam doing school work online, we had to have reliable internet.  The best part was that after we picked up the new router Meg, Cam and I stopped to get Ben's pretzels to celebrate.  

A Return to Four Days a Week

 We found out over Christmas break that Bethany had decided that since they had had no COVID outbreaks at school that they would return to having in person class four days a week beginning January 19th.  When I first told Cameron, he looked at me with a face of disgust.  I asked him if he liked virtual learning better.  He said, "No, it's just the thought of school in general."  I was sure that he wasn't the only teenager feeling that way, but he did warm up to the idea of going back when he realized that at least he would be able to see his friends.    

I was happy for him as we had come to realize that spending an inordinate amount of time at home since November had become a drag for Cameron.  Thankfully, he was able to take tennis lessons, play in a tennis tournament and work on driver's education during that time period.  The weather had also been pretty mild this winter, so at least he could go outside.  Meg had been around so there was someone who was at least competitive to play Mario Kart against and he had received a new Madden game to yell at on a nightly basis.  Even with all of those activities it was time to get back into a more normalized routine.  As much as we enjoyed having Cameron at home, we were glad for him as he would at least get a break from us.

Cause for Concern

 When the mask mandate was first introduced in Indiana in July several of my friends and family members were all over Facebook complaining about their civil liberties being taken away.  Shortly after that there were protests around the state mirroring those ongoing in the country.  Since I believed from the start that masks were an important part of slowing the spread of the virus, I didn't really follow any of their posts or join in their complaints.

Fast forward to this past week and for the first time since the pandemic has started I have become concerned.  Although I still strongly believe in masks mandates and wish there was more enforcement of them, the decisions made since the riots at the Capitol building have made me rethink my thought on personal freedoms.  For the past few months Facebook and Twitter had been censoring or removing tweets that they felt were inaccurate.  I could see why they felt the need to do that as there was a lot of misinformation spread through social media. This past week, however, they actually blocked users that they did not politically agree with their posts or tweets.  Google Play, Apple and Amazon in turn removed a new social media app, Parler, from their platforms as they felt it was dominated with right wing Republican users.  The House Speaker also announced that any member of the House that did not properly go through security would be fined $5000.  Even PBS got involved when one of their attorneys stated publicly that "all children of Pro-Trump supporters would have to go through re-education training after his presidency."  

All of these acts scared me a little bit.  I do not want a national government that constantly maintains surveillance over its citizens.  It reminded me of the movie Enemy of the State and the amount of control the United States government had over its people in the film.  The plot seemed a little farfetched at the time, but maybe not quite as much as I thought.  Either way the last lines of the film stuck in my head today.  Congressman Sam Albert : [on TV] "We knew that we had to monitor our enemies. We've also come to realize that we need to monitor the people who are monitoring them.".. Carla Dean : "Well, who's gonna monitor the monitors of the monitors?"  I couldn't have said it better myself.  

A Vacation for the Ages

 A year ago this week the six of us spent six days together as a family in Walt Disney World.  It was definitely one of my favorite vacations.  We stayed together in a club suite at the Boardwalk Inn everyone's favorite Disney hotel.  As always it was nice to have food and beverages included in the room charges with a lounge to eat, drink and relax in during the stay.  Cal was the most impressed with the hotel as he hadn't been to Disney World since 2012.  Thus, he had forgotten all of the extra amenities and it's walking paths to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.  It was definitely easy to see why Meg had adopted the slogan "Boardwalk for Life." 

While in Walt Disney World all of us thoroughly enjoyed visiting the parks, trying the different foods in EPCOT's world showcase, traveling on the new sky liners, playing miniature golf, shopping, exploring the new Star Wars land and having drinks at Oga's Cantina.  There were several new rides since Brett and Cal's last visit and we had fun introducing the two of them to these.  The Heinisch children were even able to secure passes to the biggest ride in Disney World to date- Rise of the Resistance.  They absolutely loved the new Star Wars based thrill ride.  It was so much fun to hear them talk about it and I felt incredibly blessed that all of our children chose to spend the week with us.  

On the last day of our trip Doug and Cam's flight was cancelled.  An ensuing issue with their luggage check in made it impossible for them to easily switch flights over the phone.  Thus, they had to leave Animal Kingdom early to catch a ride to Orlando International to secure an outbound flight.  Fortunately they made it home, with only the inconvenience for Doug and I the next morning of having to drive to O'Hare to retrieve the lost luggage and Doug's vehicle.  Before Doug left for the airport in Florida I heard him say to the Heinisch children - "Don't let this ruin anything.  It was a wonderful vacation with a bad ending."  Little did we know that his words would ring true for the rest of 2020 as well.  

Another Weekend, Another Puzzle

 I had given Doug a "I Love the 80s" puzzle by White Mountain for Christmas.  It was fun to put together and a nice break from some of the more challenging ones that we had worked on recently.  It actually only took us a few days to finish.  I thought when I purchased it that Doug and I would really enjoy reminiscing about life in the 1980s as we had both come of age during that decade.  The more time we spent on the puzzle, however, the more we both realized that there just wasn't a lot during that time period that still interested us.  Madonna, Dallas, Cabbage Patch Kids, Walkmans were all a large part of the entertainment world during the 1980s, but weren't really relevant anymore.  In retrospect I believe that I should have gotten him a puzzle from the 1970s.  I think Doug and I appreciate that decade a little more and I know that we have introduced the Heinisch children to a lot more music and television shows from that era Whether it was our favorite puzzle or not, it was still enjoyable to work on it together and was a nice diversion from all of the football that we watched this past weekend.

Dream, Dream, Dream . . .

I dream a lot or at least I remember my dreams quite often.  In general they have been vivid, real to life and I can explain them in detail to others the next day.  In fact there have been times they have seemed so real that I had to remind myself in the morning that my vision was only a dream.  When I was younger, I thought that everyone was the same as me.  After talking to family and friends I have come to realize that everyone dreams differently.  Some have told me that they do not ever remember dreaming, others only occasionally, and then a few tend to be more like me recalling every dream as if they were watching a movie.

Intertwined with all of the dreams that I have had, there have been a few that have reached the status of "recurring dreams."  The first one that I remember revolved around snakes.  In it a snake would come up and bite my hands or feet.  I believe that it occurred most often after I had seen a television show or movie that focused on the reptile.  In college and several years afterward I would dream that I had a final and hadn't been to class all semester.  I assumed that was become I felt unprepared at times during my education.  The strangest recurring dream that I have had revolved around knocking.  I would hear someone knocking so loudly on our front door that it would wake me out of a dead sleep.  I would run to the front door and no one would be there.  I started to ignore the dream when I woke up and it began to change.  I would instead hear someone knocking on my bed frame or bedroom wall.  It was so loud and close to me that I would wake up with a start and have a harder time falling asleep afterward.

My most recent recurring dream recently obviously stems from the pandemic.  In it I am always with a large group of people and no one is wearing a mask.  When this type of dream first began I was always starting a new job.  In the middle of training I would look around and see that no one was wearing a mask.  Shortly afterward, I would realize that I had forgotten to bring one with me.   This dream has changed over the last month.  I am still in a group of non-mask wearers without one myself, but lately everyone around me graduated from high school with me.  I find this recurring dream most interesting as those in my dream aren't people that still live in the area.  I am also a strict mask wearer, so there would be no way I would forget to wear or at least bring a mask with me wherever I go.  This is definitely a dream that makes me panic and I have to remind myself in the morning that it did not happen.  Hopefully, this one will stop once we get vaccinated.  It's hard enough to live in an area where many individuals chose not to wear masks.  I definitely don't need to think about it in my sleep as well. 

Are You Ready for Some Football

 The NFL playoffs began today and the games dominated the Heinisch family televisions for the majority of the day.  The first one was the closest with the Colts losing by a field goal to the Bills.  As everyone liked both teams, it wasn't too disappointing.  The game that most thought would be a nail biter was a bust as the Rams easily beat the Seahawks.  It was the biggest upset of the day and the one that we paid attention to the least.  The night game held the most interest to the football fans in our family.  No one had been a Tampa Bay fan in previous years, but with Tom Brady as quarterback everyone was cheering them on this season.  The game was closer than Doug or Cal would have liked, but in the end the Bucs won 31-23.  Tomorrow will bring three more games to watch and the most anticipated one of the weekend as the Bears take on the New Orleans Saints.  The sports media has spent a lot of time this year talking about Mitch Trubisky losing his starting role as quarterback to Nick Foles and then regaining the spot.  That along with the rumor that this will be Drew Breese's last year has made for a much hyped up game.  Doug fully expects the Saints to win, but we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out.  

Financial Independence.

 Cal and Brett both signed up for their company's 401K program today.  Each gets up to a 3% match which Doug thought was great.  I was excited for both of them as they had worked hard this year to save money while also enjoying life. It was definitely a big step for each in their bid for financial independence.  Brett realized it as well and texted me earlier in the week to thank me for helping him set up a budget.  It had benefitted him tremendously in 2020 and with it he was able to set a goal of paying off his CRV in two years instead of five.  Cal didn't need as much advice as he had always been a saver.  He had used his excess cash for investments even when he was only working part time.  I was glad to have helped Brett over the years with budgeting and was pleased that we could give Cal a place to live currently so that he could save money for the future.

Hearing their excitement about retirement planning made me think back to our first few years after graduating from college.  Doug lived at home and had to pay rent.  He was given his car insurance bill immediately upon returning home.  Although neither of us had any debt it was challenging to save for a wedding, our first home and starting a family with outside expenditures accumulating.  It would have been nice to have a year or so of very little expenses to be able to save for the future.  In the end we made it work, but because of our experience, we made a goal of helping the Heinisch children become financially independent the first year after graduating from college whether through budgeting or paying for added expenses that we were able to absorb.  This year they will both take on their car insurance payments and phone bills, but they were prepared for these expenditures.  We plan to help Cam and Meg in the same manner.  We may not have a huge inheritance to give them one day, but they shouldn't need it as they have been given a wonderful start to life outside of the Heinisch home.

Thankful to Be Done with Public Education

 Yesterday in the local paper there was an article about a meeting with the community of Milford and the new Superintendent of the Wawasee School Corporation.  His goal was to heal the wound that the tax referendum had uncovered in the fall.  That sounded like a nice idea.  Although I didn't agree with his statement that Wawasee would become one of the premier school systems in Northern Indiana, I applauded his effort.  That was until I read that the teacher pictured sitting beside him at the meeting was hired as the interim public relations liaison to the superintendent.  

After that statement I was so mad that I could barely finish the article.  When I worked in the Wawasee school system, lack of money was the reason for every teacher request denial.  During my last year of teaching, I had thirty-two students in one of my math classes.  I didn't have enough seats for all of them and was given makes shift tables and chairs in an effort for each child to have a work space.  The behavior issues in that class were well documented by myself and other educators.  When I realized that we were failing this group immensely with overcrowding, short supplies and lack of discipline protocols outside of my classroom, I asked for help.  I was told that there was no funds available for better suited seating or for an additional adult in my classroom.  Basically, I had to come up with my own plan.  As a veteran teacher, I was able to do that so that we could make some academic progress that school year, but it wasn't what was best for the students.

That wasn't my first experience with lack of funding.  When I taught FACS I was given outdated equipment and a minuscule budget.  I spent a lot of my own time and money to make it a fun yet educational environment for students.  As frustrating as my math and FACS experience was, I believe that the hardest "lack of funds" excuse to accept was when a group of middle school teachers asked to have an individual hired to monitor a classroom that would support students with behavioral issues.  It would give these students a space to catch their breath, work on homework and get additional support for their individual needs.  It would also allow for the regular classroom teacher to get back to the rest of their students, giving them the attention they needed to learn without having to deal with a constant behavioral  disruption.  It was a win/win situation for students and teachers, but one that administration never even seriously considered.  Thus, when I thought about the funds used to pay for a public relations liaison when there were so many other avenues to spend money to improve education, I became nauseated.   Thankfully, I didn't let it ruin my evening.  Instead I felt even more grateful that our family had chosen to move away from public education as students, educators and coaches.  It was the best decision that we had ever made as a family.  

Absolutely Appalling

Everyone's hope for a better 2021 was already shattered today at least in the political world.  Since the November election, Trump had publicly accused the Democrats of cheating to win the presidency.  Although there had been no proof of this legally and the Supreme Court had ruled that the states' certified election results were valid, he and his base chose to dominate social media with erroneous conspiracy theories to the contrary.  In the Heinisch home we had chosen to ignore the arguments and accept that Joe Biden was elected the 46th President of the United States.  We had hoped that the run off elections in Georgia yesterday would produce a Republican controlled Senate, so that there would be a party balance in Congress between the two houses.  When this did not happen we understood and accepted that the next two years would be dominated by the Democrat party.  Trump did not agree with these results, however, and organized a "Save America" rally in Washington D.C. today as Congress was set to certify Biden's win.

None of us were surprised by this, but the aftermath that followed the rally was absolutely appalling.  At the end of the speech to his zealot followers, Trump encouraged those in attendance to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue and "let their voices be heard to the weak Republicans that would not contest the election results."  The crowd took this as a free pass to storm the Capitol Building and soon were entering its hallowed halls with the intent on destruction and mayhem.  The entire area was put on lockdown as the Senators were safely ushered to the walkways in the basement where they would remain for the next four hours.   Upstairs, priceless historical artifacts were destroyed and the floors were littered with debris.  The National Guard was deployed and in the end four protestors and one police officer died in the fiasco. 

There had been multiple riots this year, but this one seemed more personal. Our family had visited the Capitol multiple times over the years and Brett had worked in it for a summer.  We loved the rotunda and were disgusted by the lack of respect for our nation's history that was shown there today.  We shouldn't have been surprised by this behavior as we had spent this past year listening to the ignorance spouted by our President and watched those in our area repeat his every word.  The selfishness of those involved mirrored the rhetoric of President Trump and his worshiping group of MAGAs.  Although many Republicans spoke out this afternoon condemning the riot, I still worried that this behavior would continue well past inauguration day.  On January 1st, 2021 I knew that a new year would not stop the pandemic or the political unrest, but never thought that it would escalate to the ignorance that we saw today.  What a sad day in American history.

Last Day of Christmas Break

 Since today was Cameron's last day of Christmas break, we asked him to chose our activities for the evening.  We first played Mario Kart with him winning as usual.  He chose Knives Out for all of us to watch.  He had never seen it and the rest of really liked it, so it was an easy choice.  The movie was a lot like the Clue movie of the 1980s with several twists and turns.  Cam wasn't able to figure out who the murderer was any better than we were when we originally saw it.  That didn't matter as the movie was enjoyable either way especially the performance of Daniel Craig, aka James Bond.

As in years past I was sad to see an end to Christmas break.  I have always enjoyed having the Heinisch children at home.  This year, however, I was also glad for Cameron to be back to a routine.  He had gotten bored and I know that he was tired of being at home.  Since we couldn't really go anywhere this year due to the pandemic, it was a lot of down time for him.  It was nice that everyone was home for part of the time to play games, watch television and just hang out.  Bethany sent out an email letting us know that after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day they will go back to in person learning four days a week instead of two.  Cameron would prefer that as he has never enjoyed virtual learning.  I keep telling him that it will soon be March and with that golf season.  That will be the best solution to the stuck at home blues.  

Next Step

 After a long wait Cal finally started his job with Plante Moran today.  We were excited for him and he was more than ready to begin.  They had sent his computer, monitors and laptop via Fed Ex last week but asked him not to set them up until yesterday.  He rearranged his room/office in the basement and had a nice area to work.  Doug checked in on him before he left, but Cal was already up and ready to go.  Meg, Cam and I stayed out of his way and made sure that he had lunch before we left for tennis.

Cal reported at the end of the day that all went well.  They had a lot of on boarding activities for him to do and several video conference meetings to attend.  He said that this week would be pretty easy, but starting next Monday he will be working sixty hours a week through March.  We know that busy season will be challenging, but not having to commute should make it a little easier.  Doug can't wait to compare notes on his first few months as an auditor.  

A Quiet End to the Weekend

 Meg arrived home this afternoon.  She had been in West Lafayette since Wednesday.  She almost left early as Nick's apartment complex was without power on New Year's Day.  Thankfully, it came back on within four hours.  That wasn't the case around here as there were still residents without power today and several school systems had to close for tomorrow due to the outages.  Fortunately, all went well with Meg and Nick's trip and we were all glad to see them.  

Cal spent most of his day with Hannah-Marie.  They watched movies and had dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  He was too nervous to watch the Bears game and needed to get out of the house.  Cam and Doug watched for him.  The Bears played well in their loss to the Pacers, but were secured a playoff spot when the Rams beat the Cardinals tonight.

After the games we watched more Disney + while finishing the Walt Disney World puzzle that Meg gave me for Christmas.  It was challenging especially since all of the edge pieces were blue.  Once we figured out to start in the middle, it did get a little easier.  Either way it looked great and we enjoyed working on it together.  It was a nice way to end our three day weekend at home.

  

Not What We Expected

 A year ago today IU football played in the Gator Bowl.  We were all excited as their season had been one of their best in years.  We had hoped to go Florida to watch them then, but our trip to Disney World had already been planned and the timing with Doug's inventory made it almost impossible for him to get away.  We didn't mind watching it at home, however, and had our own IU bowl party.  The Hoosiers played well last year, but let the Gator Bowl championship slip away in the end. 

Fast forward to today and we had pretty much the same set up.   IU had enjoyed an even better season than last year.  We were excited for their prospects at the Outback Bowl, and although we weren't able to attend in person due to the pandemic, we made the best of it at home.  The house was decorated, the crockpot was full of buffalo chicken dip and the television was warmed up with pregame shows.   The hype behind the game was large.  Hoosier fans felt slighted that IU missed out on being chosen for a New Year's Eve bowl.  The argument became even stronger as Ohio State blew out Clemson last night, thus making IU's eight point loss to them during the regular season look even more impressive.  

The excitement of the game quickly turned as IU struggled in the first half.  Ole Miss' offense was different than any IU had played this season and the defense struggled to adjust to it.  Even more challenging for the Hoosiers to overcome was replacing their injured star quarterback.  No matter how well Jack Tuttle played, he wasn't going to be able to match the arm or athleticism of Michael Penix, Jr. As Cam stated at the half, "IU was lucky just to be down 13-3."  They did rebound in the second half and I was sure that they would take advantage of Ole Miss' errant extra point.  Unfortunately, they just couldn't erase the deficit and lost 26-20 continuing their losing streak in bowl games to 30 years.  There were some bright spots today, mainly revolving around senior Whop Philyor setting an IU record with eighteen receptions.  It was a nice sendoff for him, but the loss was a bitter pill for everyone to swallow.  The rest of the night was a quiet one in the Heinisch home.  We weren't ready for anymore football, so we watched the movie Soul and then Ratatouille on Disney+.  There was one bright spot during the evening - Cal and Winston stopped by to say hello.  It was nice to see them both of their smiling faces.

Happy 2021

 With so many posts on social media blasting 2020 as the worst year in history, Doug and I had decided to count out blessings instead.  Yes, 2020 had been tough on the Heinisch family.  Brett had lost a job.  Meg had her freshmen year at IU cut short.  Cameron had spent more time at home than he would have preferred and Cal missed out on his graduation from IU as well as all of the senior fun.  Doug's reduction in salary due to the pandemic was a blow to our budget as well and made for a few challenging months.  

Even with all of these inconveniences and difficulties that our family faced, Doug and I both realized that 2020 could have been so much worse.  Watching the death counts rise, the unemployment numbers increase and the closing of multiple businesses made us even more thankful for our family.  This year we had spent more time together either in person, on the phone or via text messages than any other since Brett started high school.   We had added a fire pit and projector to our home and enjoyed countless bonfires and movie nights over the past year.  Crafting had become a hobby for Meg and I and Cal and Cam played more golf this summer than they had in any previous ones.  Meg did finally get to return to IU and Cal was able to study for and pass two of his CPA tests with his extra time.  Cam had a fantastic fall tennis season.  Brett replaced his lost job with a new career at a company that he thoroughly loved and found new ways to hang out with his friends while still social distancing.  Doug's workload increased keeping him busy through the end of the year and in his downtime he worked on increasing his cooking knowledge.  I learned to play the piano with both hands and appreciated every moment that I stayed healthy in 2020.  We do not know what 2021 will bring.  We pray for good health as the year starts and a hope that the positives that we found in a challenging year will only continue into the next.