Some Sad News

I received some very sad news on Friday night.  My cousin, Mark, was killed in a hit and run accident on CR 29 earlier in the day.  I looked at Doug as soon as I read the text and just started crying.  I felt awful.  Doug had driven by that area shortly before he was found and hadn't seen anything.  I asked Cameron if he remembered anyone out walking when we drove home, but he didn't either.  There wasn't anything that we could have done to prevent the accident, but I wished that we could have.  

 Life had been challenging for Mark from the  beginning.  He was born deaf in a world before cochlear implants were even envisioned.  We all tried our best, but it was hard to communicate with him.  Even so, Bunk and I had always enjoyed hanging out with Mark, his sister Anne and younger brother Dave.  It was fun to have cousins our own ages and I had a lot of found memories of them especially playing games at my Grandma Musser's on holidays.  Although our paths went separate ways after I graduated from high school, I would still see Mark a couple of times a year at the grocery store.  He always had a big smile on his face when he greeted me.

My Dad told me that Mark had fallen on tough times as of late.  I was really sorry to hear that.  I knew that no matter what, no one deserved his fate.  After a few days, I realized that I couldn't change what happened to Mark, but I could remember a happier time - one where all of the cousins including Mark and my brother were together, hanging out and enjoying each other's company.  No reckless driver could ever take that away from me.  

A Rare Treat

During the past three weekends Cameron has had a tennis tournament or match.  These not only gave him an opportunity to work on his tennis skills, but it has also allowed us to order out from different restaurants.  Recently we tried several of our favorites including Portillo's, Evilczech, and Papa Vino's.  This weekend, however, Cameron did not have tennis and we planned to stay at home today.  We didn't mind as the weather was gorgeous.  Cam and Doug made time to play basketball in the driveway and Doug and I were able to take a long walk.  

When talk about dinner arose, I mentioned that Meg had said that there was a Giordano's in Fort Wayne.  She had noticed it when she and Nick ordered from the Indy location several weeks ago.  Even though it would be a two hour round trip, both Doug and Cameron were more than interested in having Chicago stuffed crust pizza for dinner.  We quickly looked up their menu online and within minutes were getting ready to leave.

I asked Doug what he thought about letting Cameron drive to Columbia City so that he would get experience on a four lane highway.  Doug and Cameron both thought it was a good idea and soon we were on our way to pick up our meal.  I was impressed with how well Cameron drove.  He made it well past Paige's Crossing before Doug had him pull over so that he could drive the rest of the way.

Our pizza was ready just as promised and it was just as delicious as we remembered.  Doug said that the last time he and Cameron had had Giordano's was the night before they flew to Walt Disney World in January of 2020.  I know that it was much longer for me.  Although we all wanted to eat as much of the treat as possible, we decided to save some for later.  Thankfully, Doug ordered two large pies, so we had plenty leftover.  None of us have been interested in eating inside restaurants yet, but it has definitely been fun ordering out this past month.  Can't wait to see what we try next.

There He Goes . . .

Cal let us know a couple of weeks ago that Jayce's roommate in Chicago had moved out and that he would be able to sublet from him.  We were excited for Cal.  The timing was perfect as he had been able to work at Grandma's these past two months and live at home.  My parents were set to return by March 3rd, so he would be out of their house and we would have it all cleaned up well before they came back home.  Cal also thought that they might soon be required to go to the office on some days.  Living in Chicago would definitely make that easier.  

Cal never said it, but after nine months at home we knew that he had to be excited to finally be out on his own.  We were happy for him as well.  Both Doug and I remembered what it was like to be that age when independence was very much cherished.  Cal spent the day packing and I did tear up when he finally said goodbye.  Even though I knew he'd be back to visit, this time he wasn't just leaving for a weekend or even a semester.  It was for life.  As I walked back into the house, Doug reminded me of just how lucky we really were.  When Cal received an email from Plante Moran in May letting him know that his start date had changed from September to January, we both worried that his job would be furloughed.  Thankfully, that was not the case and because of the change we got to spend a lot of quality time with Cal before "he flew the coop."  Doug was right and I spent the rest of the night feeling blessed.  Cal must have sensed that as later in the evening I received this text.  I couldn't have agreed more.

A Strange Request

 Along with Doug's membership card, Cal received a letter in the mail from the Knights of Columbus this week.  I was surprised to see it as he had let them know on the yearly invoice for dues that he would be moving to Chicago and would not be renewing his membership this year.  I thought that maybe they didn't receive the note and had sent a reminder letter.  

I didn't think much more about the letter and it lay on the desk for a couple of days before Cal opened it.  In it was another bill along with a typed note letting him know that the only way that he could resign from the Knights of Columbus was to send a handwritten letter outlining his reasoning for leaving.  Doug, Cal and I thought that was strange as he was moving and had told them that.  The more we talked about it, however, the funnier it got.  We wondered what would happen if he didn't send the letter.  Would they track him down or show up at the house?  Doug even quoted one of his favorite lines from Godfather 3, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in."  

Cal did get a handwritten letter ready for them before he left for Chicago letting the Knights know that he would be resigning due to his move.  He also thanked them for all of the support they have shown the community and our family over the years.  It was a nice gesture.  Even though we hadn't been involved in any of the Knights activities this past year due to the pandemic, they were an important part of our children's religious growth and their request gave us time to talk about all of the fun we had had at their events.  

Shorts & Tank Tops

 Meg called me on the way back from the Union today.  She had left something at her apartment and needed to pick it up before she met friends to study and get dinner.  She said that she could have just stayed where she was, but she was really looking forward to going on another walk in the beautiful sunshine.  It was over 50 degrees in Bloomington today and she was wearing shorts.  I wasn't surprised as yesterday she had on Birkenstocks.  She also said that all of the guys walking around campus were wearing tank tops.  I could see that as I know a year ago Cal would have been one of them.  

I definitely couldn't blame anyone for becoming overly enthusiastic about the break in weather.  It had been a long, cold February in Indiana.  Although our weather didn't quite match southern Indiana's, it was in the forties today with an abundance of sunshine.   I wasn't ready to put on shorts just yet, but I did agree with Meg that Birkenstocks and capris were the right outfit to celebrate the warmer temperatures.  It will still be awhile before all of the snow melts, but just having our driveway clear has been a nice change of pace.  Meg is positive that Spring is just around the corner.  I sure hope that she is right.  We are more than ready for it here in the Heinisch home.  

A Bittersweet Memory

This post came across my memories yesterday on Facebook.  I loved the picture that I took of Meg and Nick that night.  Meg was so excited to go to the boys' basketball game.  She had missed quite a bit of school after having her wisdom teeth out and although she was still in a lot of pain, she did make it to class for the afternoon that Friday as she knew that I wouldn't let her go to senior night unless she did.  I remembered the poster that Meg made for KeyShawn and how he had texted her to make sure that she was still going to the game.  That night when she got home she talked about the root beer keg that SGA had for the seniors and the fun that she had at Culver's with everyone even though her mouth was hurting incredibly bad.  I was so happy that she had enjoyed her evening.

As I looked at Meg's smile in that picture from two years ago, my heart started to ache.  As much fun as that evening was for her and her classmates, the next day was one of the worst that they had ever experienced.  Their friend, classmate and the reason that they all went to senior night was tragically killed in a car accident the next afternoon.  

I checked in with Meg today to see how she was doing.  She was sad and wished that the day could have slipped by unnoticed.  Meg had decided not to post anything about Shawn as it was just too hard to think back on that weekend without feeling an extreme amount of sadness.  She heard from a couple of her classmates and friends.  It helped to have someone to chat with who understood how she felt.  She asked me if this day would ever get easier.  I assured her that it would, but maybe not for his family and friends.  She worried that KeyShawn would be mad at her for not posting anything on social media about the friendship that meant so much to her.  In all honesty I didn't know how he would have felt.  Before she hung up, however, she said, "It's ok, Mom.  I'm still mad at him for saying my face looked fat after I had my wisdom teeth taken out."  We both laughed.  I loved that she still thought of him as the same friend he was then.  That's when I could finally smile. 

Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin

 The best part of my day this school year has been the drives to and from Bethany.  Besides the time that it has given Cameron to practice his driving skills, it has also been the source of some wonderful conversions between him and I.  The afternoons have been the most fruitful for these interactions as Cam fills me in on his day, his classes, his latest Tik Tok ideas and more.  The mornings in general were always quieter as neither one of us was ready to start the day.  

To help fill the void on the drive in to Bethany last fall Cam and I started listening to ESPN radio in the mornings.  We enjoyed the programming as the topics were heavily dominated by college football and it broke up the silence in the van.   The show was very easy to listen to with an opinionated ex-football player at the lead, an NBA star humbled by injury sharing his thoughts and a highly knowledgeable ESPN sportscaster to keep the flow.  The discussion points were extremely interesting to Cam and soon he was sharing his thoughts on the morning's sports topics with both  Doug and Cal.  

I started to notice in October that even after I dropped Cam off at school that I would leave the radio tuned to ESPN.  The actual news in the country was too depressing for me to listen to and sports radio was a nice break from that.  Later in the day I would share what I had heard with Cameron as he drove us home.  He'd given me his opinions and I'd share theirs.  

Time wore on and my interest in the Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin show only grew.  The long winter days were broken up by their discussions and I even began taping their shows, so that when I would shovel I would have something to listen to outside.  Soon I was sharing my thoughts on their topics with Doug at lunch and texting Cal what I had heard.  The failings of the Bears to develop Mitch Trubiski, the Tom Brady GOAT debates and the prospect of Trevor Lawrence not being picked at the number one spot were just a few of the topics that I was now knowledgable enough to discuss with our male dominated home.  Yesterday as Keshawn ducked to avoid being hit by a seagull flying behind the glassed-in studio, I laughed with the rest of the viewers.  The "bird attack" didn't surprise me as much as how I had really grown to enjoy the show and was thankful for the influx of sports' insight that it had given me these past six months.   

Reality Hits Home

 This afternoon Doug and I were working in the basement once again and I just started crying.  At first I thought it was because of all of the extra boxes that we found in storage and the amount of work it was going to take to get them organized and out of the house.  Once Doug said, "We've got to do it sometime and right now is a lot easier than in twenty years," I realized that it wasn't getting the house ready to sell that was bothering me.  It was the fact that Cal was also packing up the basement, getting ready for his move to Chicago.  

Cal's been patiently waiting since last May to start his life.  His career had finally begun in January.  Now it was time for him to begin living on his own.  We had absolutely loved having him here for that extra time, but we realized that once all of his friends had moved out of town and HM had gone back to Bloomington that the excitement of living at home had lessened.  

Even though I knew all of that and was excited for him to "fly the nest" my heart still ached a little.  Cal must have sensed that as he told me later in the day that it was strange to think about leaving, but that he was excited about it at the same time.  He asked us to watch a movie with him later in the day and all of us jumped at the chance.  "Coming to America" was one of my favorites growing up and I was glad to share it with Cam and Cal.  Most importantly, however, I was incredibly happy to spend a last few hours with Cal before he began his life's journey.

Where Did All of This Stuff Come From?

 Doug and I decided last week that it was time to organize the furnace storage room.  We had planned to have a garage sale last spring, but with the pandemic that wasn't possible.  Thus, everything that the Heinisch children had cleaned out over the previous year was now on year two of sitting in our basement.  The room had become so crowded that we couldn't even get to the fuse box without climbing over boxes.  Meg and Brett had both mentioned that they had misplaced items and were sure that they were in the garage sale pile, thus, increasing my need for starting the project.

This morning I was very happy with my weekly progress.  I had marked many items for a garage sale at my parents' home this summer and was able to organize them into shared boxes.  We could actually walk into the storage room and not have to squeeze through a maze of cardboard.  Doug was even able to move a lot of what I had sorted along with five tubs of his Sports Illustrated magazines to my parents garage before he and Cameron left for his tennis match today.

The feelings of success started to wan as the day continued.  I worked for almost four hours on the basement while they were gone.  I had found several items that Bret and Meg had lost and ran across a few game systems that were worth quite a bit more money than when we first boxed them up.  Even with all of the progress I was more than ready for a break when they arrived.  I was definitely becoming overwhelmed, especially when I realized that there was still quite a bit to do.  Thankfully, they had brought food from Evilczech Brewery with them for dinner.  It was a nice treat and one of Cal, Doug and Cam's favorites.  

When It Rains It Pours

 Wednesday was stressful enough in dealing with the van and it's deflated tire, but the next twenty-four hours didn't do much to calm my nerves.  Once we got back from dropping off the van at Monteith Wednesday night, I started to hear a strange noise from the pipes in my bathroom and laundry room.  At first I thought it was nothing, but soon realized that every time I ran the water in those areas, there was a weird hissing noise followed by a pulsating water stream.  I wanted to believe it was from all of the snow and cold that we had been dealing with, but was pretty sure that I was wrong.  I said something to Doug about it, but he hadn't noticed anything.  Cam hadn't either, but Cal did say that the pump downstairs was clicking more often.  

After doing some research, both Doug and I came to conclusion that the bladder on the well pump was most likely going out and in turn causing air in our pipes.  As I read that it could cause more serious damage if not fixed, we thought it was best to have it looked at immediately.  Thankfully, Doug was able to get a hold of the plumber rather quickly and we soon found out that we were correct on our diagnosis.  The plumber was able to fix it temporarily while he waited for the parts to come in next week which was a relief.  

While the plumbing was being taken care of, Doug was on a call that confirmed what he had been thinking for quite some time.  He would have to travel either next week or the following one and would likely be gone for close to ten days.  As we talked through the logistics of him getting to the airport, Doug suggested using the Civic.  That would alleviate the concern of leaving the Pilot at the airpot for an extended period of time and would mean that I wouldn't have to spend two days getting him to Indy and back.  It sounded like a good idea except that the Civic's windshield wipers had been completely shredded from overuse.  Since we didn't know for sure how quickly Doug would be leaving, he called Monteith to check on their availability.  Fortunately, he was able to get the car in the same day.  Before he hung up he set up another appointment, but this time for the Pilot.  The metal piece in the van wheel left us a little unsure about the longevity of the Pilot's tires.  One had been leaking air and they all seemed to be a little worn.  

Feeling better about getting all of our vehicles ready for traveling, I mentioned that Cal would be moving to Chicago next week.  I wondered if it made sense to have his CR-V looked at as well.  He had been having problems with it leaking oil in the fall.  I wasn't sure when he would be back to have it checked again, so Doug set that appointment up for Monday.  While on the phone Doug found out that the Pilot was definitely in need of four new tires.  I was glad that we were able to fit everything in, but tired from all of the stress of the past two days.  Thankfully, the weekend arrived at 5 p.m. tonight and we were finally able to relax, play Ticket to Ride, work on our puzzle and while watching Harry Potter.  

So Incredibly Thankful

 Yesterday as Cam and I were driving to his tennis lesson I noticed that the tire light on the van had lit up on the dashboard.  I instantly became concerned as we had brand new tires and I didn't think that the cold could be the issue as it had been in years past.  Since we were closer to the racquet club than home I continued on to the lesson hoping that I was wrong about the cold.  

I dropped Cam off and everything looked fine, so I headed to Menards.  I was only in the store ten minutes or so, but when I came out I noticed that the back passenger tire was lower than the rest.  I decided that I would put air in it as soon as I finished grocery shopping at Martins.  I had a hard time focusing in the store as I was worried about the tire, but was still able to complete my list rather quickly.  As soon as I pushed the grocery cart up to the van, my heart sank.  The same tire that was low was now almost completely flat.  

I hurried and put the groceries in the trunk and drove straight to the gas station a block away.  As I tried to get the machine started I texted Cam to call me as soon as his lesson was over.  At that time I wasn't quite sure that I'd be able to get enough air in the tire to get to him across town.  I was extremely worried about how I was going to get the van fixed with us separated.  Doug said that he could help out in any way, but I knew it would take him forty-minutes just to get to Cam.  At that point I just started praying hoping for a little bit of extra help.  Thankfully, the tire did eventually fill with air and I was able to start my journey.

When I got back in the van I was relieved to see that my tire light had gone out.  I called Cam and we decided that I would still try to pick up the lunch that we had ordered from Panda Express as it was on the way to him and there was a gas station next to it if I needed more air.  Our food wasn't quite ready, but they were kind enough to put our order to the front of the line and I was on my way within minutes.  I was extremely nervous on the way to get Cam, but the tire light never came back on.  

I arrived at the racquet club about thirty minutes after I left the grocery feeling fortunate thatCam had had a warm place to wait.  Doug called to check in with us and we told him that we were going to try and make it to Leesburg and assess the tire at their gas station.  We had no problems getting there or on the rest of our journey home.  We were even able to drop off Cal's lunch to him without incident.  Later in the afternoon I checked the tire and found that the tire pressure had dropped drastically.  Doug and I got it to Monteith before it became completely flat.  

Doug worked from home today, so having the van out of commission was no problem.  I drove the Pilot to Bethany without incident.  Doug heard back from Monteith in the late morning.  They had fixed the tire, but wanted us to know that they had found a piece of metal stuck in it.  I was shocked to hear that and definitely spent some time afterward thanking God for the extra help yesterday in helping us get home safely.    

Tik Tok

While we were all at home on lockdown in March of 2020, Meg used her excess free time to watch videos on Tik Tok.  I hadn't really heard much about it, but soon learned that it was a relatively new social media platform for posting videos.  Almost all videos were set to song and in general poked fun at a group, especially parents.  It gained quite a bit or notoriety last summer when President Trump threatened to ban the app because of its ties to China.  In the fall an American owned company bought it and it has continued to flourish in the states ever since then.

Over the past ten months Meg has sent me numerous Tik Toks that she thought that I would enjoy.  Some were cute, most were funny and a few made me laugh out loud.  My favorite two explained my life perfectly.  The first showed a dancing, drunk college age boy at 3 a.m. laughing as he knocked on his mom's bedroom door to tell her something that he thought was funny from years earlier.  The second was of a mom coming home and becoming extremely upset when she noticed that the ottoman had been moved an inch.  Along with viewing them, Meg and Sara had also made a few Tik Toks that were enjoyable to watch.  They didn't have a ton of viewers, but that didn't matter to them as they had fun making them.  There was one time that they thought that they were going to cross over the 2000 viewer mark, but then realized that it was actually just Sara watching the video over and over.

Although several of Cameron's friends were enjoying Tik Tok as much as Meg, overall he just wasn't that interested in the platform.  He laughed at ones that Meg sent him, but didn't spend too much time on the app.  All of that changed a few weeks ago when Cameron decided to make his own videos for Tik Tok.  As a Mom I really enjoyed his videos especially those about Madden '21 on the PS4.  Another one scared me to death as Cam was pictured sitting on a chair on top of a desk at school.  He told me later that he stayed that way throughout the entire class period.  

While Cam was home for e-learning yesterday he had time to make a few more Tik Toks.  He noticed that one quickly reached 2000 views even without Sara watching it repeatedly.  He was impressed by that and decided to post another one today about being home sick.  It caught on as well and soon topped out at 6500 views.  We were all amazed at that.  

After some success on social media, Cameron joked that we should move to California so that he could become a famous Tik Tok star.  Then we could all be on Dr. Phil with Cam as the family diva.  Although none of us packed our bags just yet, we were happy that Cam had found something to keep himself entertained with on these cold, snowy days.  It's been the bright spot of a long week.

Snow! Snow! Snow!

Six inches, eight inches, twelve inches, it really doesn't matter anymore.  Last night another storm hit and I didn't even pay attention to it.  This weather has gotten to be ridiculous and I'm more than done with it.  I know that spring is "just around the corner," but it sure doesn't feel like it.  Thankfully, we were all home when the snow started.  We were fortunate that Doug and Cal were able to work at home and Bethany closed for an e-learning day.  We were also appreciative of our neighbor and his snowplow four wheeler.  He was able to make short work of our drive which gave Doug time to shovel out my parents.  

As bad as our storm was, other parts of the country got it a lot worse.  Even Brett and Meg had more snow than we did.  They both shared stories of getting stuck in their respective parking lots, unplowed roads and the large amount of workers that couldn't get to Bell Trace in the morning due to weather.  They're not done yet as there was another storm predicted to hit Bloomington later in the week.  Meg said that she was glad that she brought her boots back with her when she returned to school in early February.  Last year they had days in the 50s so she never thought she'd need them.  Hopefully, we're all on our last week of extreme cold and harsh snowstorms.  Right now, it just doesn't feel like it.  

Vaccine Drama

 When the COVID vaccine rollout was first introduced in December there was a collective sigh of relief around the nation that it would be the beginning of the end of the pandemic.  Supply hasn't kept up with demand, however, and as of today only 11.5% of the country has received at least one dose and a dismal 4.2% have received the highly recommended second dose.  Since every governor was allowed to choose their state's path for vaccination and such limited supply, arguments have become prominent among Americans on who should be next in line to received the coveted immunization.  Thus, now instead of feeling as though we have won the war against coronavirus, it seems more like the United States is in a real live version of the movie Hunger Games or even worse the macabre tale, The Lottery, where only a select few are the chosen people.  

Indiana has been the center of debate from the beginning of January.  Their vaccine roll out plan followed along with most of the nation's with those over eighty years old, healthcare workers and individuals who worked in long term care facilities receiving the first doses.  The CDC had recommended high risk individuals to be among the next receiving vaccinations, but did not define exactly who those would be.  After that group it was was then suggested that essential workers received their does which included teachers as well as those working in manufacturing.  After setting up appointments for the first group and ensuring that Walgreens and CVS would be able to immunize the long term care employees and residents, Indiana announced the next tier.  They said that they would be staying in phase 1a and move the age to 75 and up.  This instantly infuriated the teachers' union as they felt that educators and staff were next in line after 80 year olds.  In some surrounding states teachers were prioritized, but Indiana chose to look at the data instead.  It saw that 85% of deaths occurred among those 65 years old and up.  Since most teachers did not fall in that category, they could not justify giving up the precious doses to those who were not high risk.  Last week Indiana made a decision on the next tiers of those eligible for vaccinations and once again there was an uproar.  The state would move to 60 years old and up this week and then follow with Hoosiers 50 years old and up along with certain individuals with severe health concerns.  According to the state's health director that would cover 97% of deaths due to COVID-19.  The union was vociferous that teachers were being treated poorly by the state.  

As a former teacher and a friend to many in the education field I sympathized with the lack of respect for the teaching profession, but I just couldn't agree with the union.  The data showed that the average age for a teacher was 41 years old, well below the high risk age group.  Schools across the state had not been super spreaders as once predicted since children in general do not spread the virus to adults, were less averse to wearing masks and were separated from one another while facing forward in the classroom.  Most of the teachers that I knew that had gotten COVID had actually contracted it outside of the classroom at high risk activities such as eating out and social gatherings or from a college age family member.  If the state decided to change its path it would be taking away immunizations from those who were most at risk to appease a union not to save its citizens.  There were over 2 million essential workers in the state of Indiana with only 57,000 of them being in education.  It just didn't make sense to give priority to a small group of essential workers especially when those in the meat packing industry were the highest risk group among that subpopulation.

Ultimately, the state of Indiana will do what it sees best for Hoosiers.  Agree or not, something they are doing must be working as the positivity count, death rates and hospitalizations have gone way down since the middle of January.  It's hard to be patient, but it's an important trail right now.  This will end one day, hopefully sooner rather than later.  

Valentines Day #31 and Counting

Today was Doug and my 31st Valentines Day together.  It was a low key celebration, but appreciated just the same.  I had asked for new earrings for the holiday which Doug was happy to pick out.  He also surprised me with chocolates and roses which have always been my favorite Valentine presents.  As in years past, Doug was easy to please with a variety pack of Samuel Adams, some new alcohol to try, mixed nuts and Ghirardelli in his gift bag.  Our day was spent playing games with Cameron, working on a lighthouse puzzle and watching the movie Onward together.  We had gotten each of the Heinisch children a food gift card and candy to honor the day and appreciated the texts, calls and in person thank you's that we received in return. 

As the day ended I thought about past Valentines Days in which I would almost make the holiday miserable with high expectations that were hard for Doug or I to reach.  Almost a decade ago my idea on celebrating changed.  Doug was scheduled to travel on February 14th and I was devastated that he wouldn't be able to take me out to dinner on that "special" day.  A snowstorm postponed his trip keeping him at home instead.  We had a nice Valentines Day together, but I realized after that night that it wasn't about celebrating our relationship on a certain day.  It was about taking time to reflect on the time that we had been together and making plans for the future.  We didn't need to do that on the 14th of February.  We could that on any date.  The most important part was that we spent time together throughout the year improving our relationship and sharing our life together.  That's exactly what we did today and I couldn't have enjoyed it more.  

Happy 26th Birthday Brett!

Today was Brett's 26th birthday and although we couldn't all be together as we were last year at this time, we still did the best to celebrate Brett's day.  Birthdays in a pandemic have made in person celebrations more challenging, but through phone calls, social media posts and texts Doug, Cal, Cam and I were still able to connect with Brett and wish him well.  We all exchanged memes, quotes and stories that made the day special to all.  

Thankfully due to vaccinations and close proximity Nick and Meg were still able to be a part of Brett's festivities.  They picked up dinner for the three of them at Buffalouie's and a big cookie from Kroger all to be enjoyed once Brett arrived from work.  Meg had taken our gifts down when she returned to IU, so after dinner they were able to watch him open them.  This made me laugh as Brett always drove Meg crazy when he would open presents as he would guess what each individual item was.  Since he had always given me a birthday list to chose his gifts from, he would generally be correct in most guesses.  This year I did do her a small favor by disguising them in different sized boxes and gift bags.  

I did hear from Brett and Meg later in the evening letting me know that the celebration was a success.  Brett had loved his gifts especially the unexpected Hufflepuff shirt and socks from his sister that he planned on wearing Tuesday when Rachael visited.  Meg had gotten a kick out of Brett's response to opening Doug's gift - "looks like it's from the old man."  Nick even liked the "Mules" that Brett had gotten them to toast his 26th.  All in all it was a wonderful birthday celebration.  Hopefully, soon we can start celebrating the Heinisch family birthday's in person once again.  

Winter Break

As next Monday is President's Day most schools in our area have the day off.  Since Bethany is a pacifist school and does not celebrate the Federal holiday, today was their holiday.  They labeled it Winter Break and Cam and I were both happy with that.  Neither he nor I were interested in celebrating President's Day with our current political mess.  We were also glad just to have a day off to sleep in and finish our grudge match in Life.  (It really wasn't much of a competition as Cam destroyed me.)

Having a day of rest also allowed Cam plenty of time to get ready for his tennis tournament as well.  His first match was at 6:30 in South Bend.  Doug met us in Goshen to take him to it.  We had decided earlier that only Doug would attend the match as it would be hard enough for one person to social distance in the viewing area, let alone two.  

Cam called on his way home to let me know that he had won the first round 6-2, 6-2.  He had played well, taking advantage of his opponent's inexperience, nerves and size.  His next match slated for tomorrow afternoon would be more challenging as he was up against the third seed.  Cam wasn't too worried about that,  just happy to get a win under his belt.  As an added bonus to the evening, Doug picked up Portillo's for dinner for the three of us.  It was a nice treat and a great way to celebrate Cam's victory. 

The Game of Life

Last week while Cameron was home from school on a Wednesday I talked him into playing a board game with me.  He readily agreed, but we weren't sure which one to chose.  We had played Mouse Trap and Pay Day previously, so I asked him if he'd like to try another one of my favorite childhood games, Life.  He had never played the original as his siblings preferred the Simpsons and SpongeBob versions of the game, but said he'd be up for trying it.

Thus, Cam headed to the basement and soon sat down with my beloved game that still sported a stain where I spilled slime on it in middle school.  The game of Life had many details to it and it took some time for me to remember them all.  Therefore, we spent some time reading and rereading the instructions before we began.  From the first spin, Cameron found the game just as intriguing as I always did.  Riding in a car, deciding on a career path, sharing the wealth, getting married, having children, playing the market and suing for damages were all aspects of Life that made it fun for anyone who loved board games.  Cameron caught on to that right away.  Being familiar with the game I had an advantage when we played the first time and beat Cameron in a close match.  

Tonight we decided to have a rematch as Doug was at a county council meeting and would be home late.  It was actually even more fun than the first time we played as we knew more of the game and what to expect.  Paying $10,000 to get rid of my Uncle's skunk farm were spaces to avoid while earning $120,000 for discovering uranium were coveted spots.  In the end Cameron became a millionaire beating me pretty easily.  The outcome of the game didn't matter to me, however.  Sharing a piece of my childhood was the real reward.  

What Kind of February Is This?

 On January 31st a pair of IU gloves arrived from Amazon for Cameron.  I had ordered them a few days earlier when I heard him say that we had zero pairs of gloves that matched.  I realized then that he hadn't been wearing any gloves at all because of it.  I started looking that day and found the perfect pair.  Once they arrived I asked Meg if she thought that I should give them to him or wait until Valentine's Day.  January had been pretty mild and I wasn't sure that he would get much use out of them in February.  She encouraged me to let him have them two weeks early and boy am I glad that she did.  He definitely has put them to good use these past two weeks.

As Cam headed to school this week with his new gloves in tow, I tried to remember a colder or snowier  February, but I just couldn't think of one.  We've added at least another six inches of snow to the six that we got on January 31st.  Due to the unseasonably cold weather none of it has even come close to melting.  On days when it hasn't snowed the temperatures have been in the single digits with windchills at times below zero.  The sad part is that nothing in the next week's forecast has looked like any of this will change.  The average February temperatures of 35 degrees are just nowhere to be found.  If this was January or even December it wouldn't seem that unusual, but this has been completely unexpected for February.  The only good part about winter arriving so incredibly late is the fact that spring is less than six weeks away.  If this cold, wintry snap had hit on January first and stayed until now it would really be depressing. At least we know that it will end relatively soon.  I did see signs of change yesterday as the Weather Channel predicted above average temperatures for March in Indiana.  I told Cameron as soon as I picked him up from school.  Although neither of us believed it, we did acknowledged that at least there was hope.  

Lesson Learned

 Last night Meg called Doug to find out how long to bake her chicken in the oven and at what temperature.  As soon as he hung up I got a call as well.  Mine was a little more concerning.  Meg had erroneously signed up for a program that had cost her $120 through Pearson education.  She had contacted them right away to let them know about the error and they promised a refund.  She was relieved to hear that, but unfortunately, the website would not let her delete her account and sign in correctly.  She decided to try again after Bible study, but she still wasn't able to log in to the statistics course.  I talked to her before I went to bed and she was in tears.  She had tried to contact someone and I had given her a few suggestions, but overall nothing helped.  She had worked on the problem for hours and finally decided at midnight to go to bed and call again in the morning.  I told her not to worry about it and that it would get fixed.  She said that she wouldn't, but I knew that the issue would keep her up from a restful night's sleep.

I talked to Meg first thing this morning and the person that she got ahold of at Pearson was of no help.  I felt terrible about that, but wasn't surprised.  I had used Pearson software when I was teaching and it wasn't overly user friendly.  I offered to help in any way that I could, but Meg said that she would handle it.  I was glad to hear that.  I knew that she was upset, but realized that it was important for her to find a solution on her own.  In the past I had resolved a lot of the Heinisch family's technology issues, but I realized that this was one that she'd have to solve on her own and for me to just be supportive.  

Meg finally decided to email her professor and explain the situation.  She knew from past experiences that she might get a tongue lashing since she had not followed the steps provided in the syllabus, but the thought of being locked out of stats forever was more pressing.  Thankfully this was not the case as he responded to her immediately and gave her tips on what to do.  He also said that he would contact his Pearson representative and see if that person could help.  Almost twenty four hours after she started, Meg was finally able to sign into the correct course.  She was thrilled and relieved.  She called her Dad and told him.  His response was, "So, next time you will read the syllabus first."  She definitely was onboard with that - lesson learned, been there done that, won't happen again.  What a relief!

Finding Success

 A year ago this past weekend Cam, Doug and I visited Bloomington to celebrate Brett's birthday and Valentines Day with he, Cal and Meg.  It was a nice family visit with one concerning note.  Brett told us that he thought that his position with IU Athletics would soon be terminated.  We were a little surprised by the news, but were hopeful that this would not be the case.  A few weeks later just as lockdown was approaching, Brett called to let us know that he was correct and that his position had been eliminated.  We felt terrible for Brett that he would have to look for a new position, but thankful that he would no longer be putting in 60+ hours in a job that he really did not enjoy.

Finding a new career last spring was put on hold due to the pandemic.  Thankfully, Brett had retained his part time job at Bell Trace which was quickly moved to full time once they heard of his availability.  It kept him busy, gave him a meaningful purpose during the health crisis and paid the bills until he could start the job search process once again.  

Once May rolled around and the state began to open back up, Brett searched through job openings on Indeed.  He wasn't looking forward to hunting for a job, but once he got started he realized that there were actually more openings than he thought there would be.  He began getting interviews right away.  By the middle of June Brett had three positions available to him and a decision to make.  We listened to his thoughts on the different offers, but didn't give too much advice.  He kept leaning towards one and then would changes his mind to another one.  In the end Brett listened to his instincts and starting a new career in Storage Express.  It was out of his comfort zone at first as there were sales quotas involved and accounts to reconcile, but once he finished his three month training he was more than excited about his new position.  

I thought a lot about this past year when Brett called this week to talk about his car payment and signing his lease for another year.  Every month he and I review his budget together and then he makes the decision on how much to put in savings and how much to put towards his car loan.  His goal has been to pay it off in two years if possible.  As we went through his finances he talked a lot about his job and how much he enjoys it.  He found out over the weekend that he had one of the lowest delinquency rates in the company and that they had moved his desk.  He was proud of both as the first meant he was working hard and the second that he no longer needed as much supervision from his boss.  I was very happy for him.  He had worked hard this past eight months.  It was nice to be feel some of that success pay off.

The G.O.A.T vs The G.O.T.T

 The hype leading up to the Super Bowl this year had been bigger than I had remembered in years past.  That could because we were in a pandemic and more focus was on the event or possibly because I paid attention more than normal since we had been listening to ESPN on the way to school in the mornings.  Either way it soon became clear that the focus of conversation regarding the match up between the quarterbacks - Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes - would take center stage in Super Bowl LV.  In fact there was a promo at the beginning of the competition narrated by Brad Pitt that proclaimed that "tonight we would be watching the Greatest of All Time against the Greatest of This Time."

Doug's favorite quarterback had long ago become a favorite of the Heinisch family as well.  Thus, we all hoped that Brady would prove once again why he was the best.  Brett didn't quite share our enthusiasm as he still held a grudge against the ex-Patriot for beating his beloved Panthers in the 2003 Super Bowl, but he did find it impressive that he was still playing almost two decades after that game.  Even though we believed that Brady was the G.O.A.T most in the Heinisch family felt that Mahomes and the Chiefs would win tonight.  We planned to watch no matter the outcome and Cam and Doug spent the afternoon cooking our Super Bowl feast.  Cam tried a new recipe - chicken sliders - which were delicious.  Doug stuck with two traditional ones - guacamole and refried been dip - which were the perfect complement to the miniature sandwiches.

The game started off quietly with little scoring until the end of the first quarter.  We were all glad to see the Buccaneers keep pace with the Chiefs hoping for a close game even if we were let down by the outcome.  In the end the game was nothing like the sports media had predicted.  The Bucs defense was unstoppable and Mahomes spent the majority of the evening on the run.  He had several nice passes that were dropped, but overall the G.O.T.T. was completely overshadowed on offense by the G.O.A.T.  The final score of 31-9 gave Tom Brady his 7th Super Bowl win and 5th Super Bowl MVP.  He had now won more Super Bowls than any team in the NFL.  

As the night ended with interviews from the Bucs coach, Brady himself and several teammates, it wasn't too long before the next big question arose.  After proving that Brady may well be the greatest football player of all time, they wanted to know if he had surpassed Michael Jordan as the greatest athlete of all time.  In the Heinisch family he hadn't quite reached that level yet with only Cam voting for Brady.  Who knows maybe after another win next year, we will all have to agree with him.  

A Great Start to the Spring Semester

 Meg left for IU last Monday and was hoping that she would be able to connect with more people this semester.  In the fall she had several friends test positive for COVID 19 and even more that had to quarantine due to exposure.  Meg was diligent about wearing a mask and social distancing to avoid the risk of contracting the virus.  She didn't want to pass it on to those at Bell Trace and she also didn't want to have to quarantine at Ashton dorm.  Her efforts worked well as she was able to avoid getting sick, but it did limit her social activities.  

Thankfully, the start of the spring semester has been drastically different for her.  Since she's been vaccinated and the positivity rate in Bloomington is well below 2%, she hasn't had to worry as much about social activities.  She's only been back one week and she's already been able to do more than she did all of October.  She's met multiple friends at the Union to study or just catch up.  She met with her Bible study leader in person and this weekend was able to attend Seek, a catholic education conference for college students.  Every night she has filled me in on the key note speakers that she had listened to during the day and the fellowship that she had experience.  She was proud to let her Dad know that she had attended a Latin mass and had learned that Pope John Paul II liked to kayak.  The best part of the week was when Meg texted me last night to let me know that she was having so much fun.  I was so glad to hear that and couldn't have been happier for her.

Tiger

Although all four of the Heinisch children have played golf at one time or another, Cal and Cam have always been the most interested in the sport.  For Cameron, just playing it has been enough for him.  He does read about the ins and outs of the golf swing and practices even when he can't make it to the course, but religiously watching the sport on television has never been his focus.  He's enjoyed the majors and has always picked a favorite player in our family pool, but reading about the individuals on the PGA and closely following their careers has been only been a casual interest of his.

Cal, on the other hand, has not only loved playing golf over the years, but has also enjoyed watching it as well.  He knows all of the players, their back stories and does quite well in predicting the tournament winners.  It doesn't surprise me that he has always enjoyed following the PGA.  I can still remember the moments after the first tournament that Cal won at eight years old.  He was so excited that we had to tour the town showing off his trophy and relaying the highlights to his biggest fans - Grandma Jane, Grandpa Cutes, Bob Carlson and even Granny.  This first LYC golf tournament victory occurred during the height of Tiger Woods' career.  Thus, Cal not only was able to find success on the golf course, but he was also able to follow his favorite player's victories on television every week.  He could even pretend to be him on the PS2 with the Tiger Woods Pro Tour video games. Who could blame Cal for idolizing one of golfs best golfers?  The dedication, drive and commitment that Tiger put into the sport was impressive as was his athletic ability.  

Even after the repeated injuries and eventual moral downfall of his golfing hero, Cal remained a faithful member of Tiger's fan base.  He had told me that Tiger's win at the 2019 Masters was one of the best sports moments that he had ever witnessed.  Therefore, when Cal said that he was watching the "Tiger" documentary on HBO Max, I wasn't surprised.  Every night he would give me the highlights of the episodes and when he finished it he said that it was one of the saddest documentaries that he had ever watched.  I decided after our conversations that I would watch it as well and talked Doug into viewing it with me.

"Tiger" was really sad.  In it we learned that his parents controlled every aspect of his life growing up and relentlessly pushed him to become a golf superstar.  The scenes where his father would taunt him as he played so he got used to the crowds of the PGA were hard to watch.  Tiger's parents were the king and queen of what was wrong with youth sports.  Worst yet was his father's promotion of Tiger as the next Messiah.  It only made his fall from grace even harder when news of Tiger's extra marital affairs broke in 2009.  

I was really glad that Cal suggested watching the documentary.  Tiger Woods had been a big part of his life.  I had forgotten a lot about that period.  It was definitely sad to see how much a narcissistic parent could really damage a child's life, but Doug and I did get a laugh out of it in the end.  Watching the large galleries surrounding Tiger in the flashback scenes reminded us of the time we took Brett and Cal to the BMW classic in Chicago during the height of Tiger's fame.  It was hard to get close to the mega star and we found ourselves following other PGA players for most of the round.  Even when we weren't close by we could still hear the noise coming form Tiger's fans.  After one of these loud uproars, Brett turned to the three of us and said, "Wow, Tiger Woods must have just changed his socks."  We all laughed especially as we realized that Brett might have been right.

Slow Going

All week I had been hearing that we would have a snowstorm tonight.  Therefore, I wasn't surprised this morning when I woke up to a winter weather advisory on my phone.  It stated that the snow would start at 4 p.m.   I thought that was perfect timing for me to get Cameron home from Bethany before it began.  I told Cam as I dropped him off in the morning to make sure to bring everything home that night as I could see a school cancellation for tomorrow.  

I communicated with Meg, Brett and Cal several times during the day to see how the weather was in Bloomington.  They weren't enjoying the 40 degrees and rain, but at least it wasn't supposed to freeze.  I told Cal that I was glad that he decided to head down last night for his weekend trip especially after getting the alert on my phone.  He was happy as well as he hadn't been to Bloomington in awhile and had plenty of room to work remotely from Brett's.  Little did I know how thankful I would really be that he left early.

Meg called me to check in again around 2:45.  As we talked I happened to look outside and noticed that it was snowing already.  The intensity picked up quickly and I decided to leave ten minutes early for Bethany.  I couldn't believe how much snow had already come down in such a short period.  It was not only sticking to the roads, but was starting to freeze as well.  It took longer than normal to school and even more time to return home.  While we were driving Cam sent a text to his friends saying, "I can't believe that my Mom won't let me drive in this" with a rolling eyes emoji.  I knew that he was joking as it was pretty intense and several times we hit patches of ice that pulled the tires of the Pilot towards the side of the road.  Although it was slow going we both appreciated everyone staying at 25 miles per hour or under on county road 29.  I explained to Cameron that I didn't want to get in an accident, but knew at that speed it would definitely be a minor one if we did.  Thankfully, that did not happen and we pulled into the drive safely at 4:20.  We were both relieved to be home.  

Later that evening he texted his friend Bailee who was on her way to Indianapolis for a medical procedure.  She told him that they saw eight accidents on their way down.  After hearing that I felt even more blessed that Cal made it to Bloomington safely last night and that Doug was able to avoid the icy roads as well by working from home today.  Cam was just happy to find out that Bethany had already called a two hour delay for tomorrow.

Wednesdays & E-Learning

 Throughout the majority of this school year Wednesdays have been set aside for asynchronous learning.  Teachers send out work on Google classroom for students to complete and they have office hours in the afternoon for questions, but there are no scheduled Zoom classroom meetings.  Some teachers have scheduled field trip on Wednesdays and standardized testing has also occurred on the middle day of the week, but overall Cameron has been at home almost every Wednesday since the start of the school year.  

As Cameron did not have a set schedule on Wednesdays we signed him up for morning tennis lessons on that day.  It worked well with his busy instructor and gave him something to look forward to on his day off from school.  I used the time he was at the racquet club for our weekly Martin's and Menards grocery run.  We had recently even added stops at Aldi and the eye doctor into the mix as well.  We always ended our day in Warsaw with a stop at Moe's or Panda Express to pick up lunch.  

The past two weeks were an exception to our weekly Wednesday schedule.  The Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and Winter Break changed the day off for Bethany students, so they were in school on Wednesdays.  Today we were back at it, however, with a tennis lesson and grocery shopping to start our day.  Cameron has almost always driven on our trips to Warsaw and today I introduced him to state road 15.  After multiple warnings of how congested it would be at the stoplight by Walmart, we both had to laugh when there were only three cars (including us) in the area when we drove through.  We did get lunch at Panda Express to take home and were glad to get a call that Cameron's new glasses were at the eye doctor, so we could pick them up on our way out of town.  

I have really enjoyed our Wednesday mornings together and will miss them once Bethany returns to a five day weekly schedule.  Today Cameron had so little school work to do once he got home that he even agreed to an afternoon game of Life - old style.  I didn't remember all of the rules from my favorite childhood game, but once we read through them and got started, it was a lot of fun and a great way to end our day.  

Live Action Remakes

 Over the past few years Disney decided to remake some of their animated classics into Live Action films.  The movies have received mixed reviews from critics and fans alike, but for the most part Meg and I have really enjoyed watching them.  We liked Aladdin (Cam's favorite), Cinderella and Dumbo (Cal's favorite), but our favorite without a doubt was the live action version of Beauty and the Beast.  In fact over the past few months I believe that it has grown to my number one Disney movie of all time.  I am positive that I could watch the movie every single day and I am pretty sure that Meg agrees with me on that.

I decided this week to take a break from Belle and the Beast's love story and try a few of the new Disney live action films.  I picked Mulan first.  It was supposed to be released last March, but due to the closure of movie theaters in our nation, Disney held off on the opening.  They eventually bypassed theaters all together and offered it for a hefty price of $30 on Disney +.  Since neither Meg nor Brett wanted to watch it, I waited until it was free with the Disney subscription.  It had gotten poor reviews, but I actually really enjoyed it.  I started it during the day and Doug finished watching it with me that evening.  Although it wasn't quite as good as the Jungle Book remake that we watched last week, it was still very entertaining.  I didn't miss the music as much as I thought I would since they played it in the background, but I could see why others complained about the absence of Eddie Murphy's dragon character.

Today's movie was Mary Poppins Returns.  It wasn't a remake, but a sequel instead.  Brett had seen it and wanted my opinion on it.  I think that we shared the same thoughts.  It was pretty disappointing.  The songs and scenes weren't near as fun as those in the original.  The exception was the last fifteen minutes as there was a surprise visit from Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury.  I really enjoyed that and in the end I was glad to have watched it.  The best part of watching all of these movies hasn't been the films themselves, but instead discussing them with the rest of the Heinisch family afterward.  As Cal handed me the Bob Iger memoir that he thoroughly enjoyed reading (as did Brett), I realized that my love of Disney had rubbed off on all of them.  That made my heart smile.

There She Goes

 Meg left for Bloomington right after lunch today.  I cried as soon as she left, but got myself together fairly quickly.  I knew that she was more than ready to go, so instead of focusing on how much I would miss her, I thought about all of the fun that we had had these past few months.  The long walks, late night talks, grocery shopping trips, movie nights and family game time had been a wonderful way to pass the winter days.  One of the biggest positives of the pandemic was the added time that we got to spend with Meg these past ten months.  

That will change starting today.  Meg's return for her spring semester marked the last time that she would be home for an extended period time until August.  She will move into an apartment in June and take classes during the summer session at IU.  Thus, her time in Bloomington will only grow as her days in Syracuse wain.  I know that the thought of this was bittersweet for her.  She was excited to see her friends and gain more independence from us, but sad to think of leaving the security of home.  I was thankful for the morning to help her pack her car and to catch up with her before she left.  We talked hopefully of upcoming visits and what Rizzo would do without her.  I was glad that she already had made plans with her friends and had signed up for a Hoosier Catholic event this upcoming weekend.  I could hear in her voice how happy she was to be back in Bloomington when she called later that evening.  Nothing could be better than that.