EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival

When Doug first suggested that I travel with him to Ocala this week, he told me that I could pick what we see and do on our trip.  I started doing some research and realized that EPCOT was having its annual Flower & Garden Festival while we would be in Florida.  The topiaries had always been my favorite of the event, but once I mentioned to Doug that there were also outdoor kitchens this year, he was definitely up for trying it. 

Although EPCOT didn't open until 11 a.m., Doug and I decided to arrive an hour early.  From everything I had read recently, most parks were letting guests in quite a bit earlier than the posted time.  At first we thought that my plan had backfired as the Uber that we took couldn't get past the parking booths.  Thankfully, at 9:55 we were finally in the parking lot heading to the turn styles.  We had to wait a little bit there, but by 10:15 we were in the queue for Test Track.  From there we headed to Frozen and walked right on that as well.  In fact by 11 a.m. we had taken a turn on the two rides with the longest lines in EPCOT and had even ordered Doug a jalapeno margarita from the most popular bar in Mexico.

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From there we spent the rest of the day trying out the various outdoor kitchens, riding some of our favorite rides including Soarin', Spaceship Earth, The Gran Fiesta Tour and Figment, walking through the butterfly garden and checking out the various Disney topiaries.   I was impressed with how beautiful everything was.  I was also pleased with Disney's response to the pandemic.  Guests were required to wear masks at all times, there were social distancing markers everywhere and plexiglass was installed in between each group of guests on the rides and shows.  There were also many places to sit down and rest as well as relaxation stations to cool off and get a break from mask wearing.  The crowds were larger than I expected, but completely manageable.   The only disappointment was the lack of stores open in the various countries.  That will have to wait until our next visit.  

We Made It

Traffic was heavy, Midway airport was packed, our plane was full, turbulence followed us for the entire flight, there was a crowd waiting to get an Uber at the Orlando airport and our hotel room was not ready when we arrived.  All of this made for a crazy day of traveling, but at 2 p.m. this afternoon we finally made it to Florida.  I was so happy to have survived the first leg of our journey that I didn't even complain when they gave us a room with a balcony on the twelfth floor outside of an open atrium overlooking the lobby even though we had requested a lower level.  I wasn't going to let my fear of heights ruin our stay in Orlando.

Once we got settled into our room and put a table in front of the balcony door we were ready for our first adventure of the night.  We had made dinner reservations at Wine Bar George in Disney Springs.  I had heard a lot of awesome reviews on the restaurant from the Disney Food Blog and was super excited to try it.  Thankfully, we were able to sit at an outside table as the indoor dining was full.  We ordered the spicy olives, flaming cheese and mac and cheese bites to try.  All were absolutely delicious and Doug was extremely pleased with our first stop.

The rest of the evening was spent touring the shops and food spots throughout Disney Springs.  They had a new M & M store that I thoroughly loved.  I was able to get into Gideon's Bakehouse through a virtual queue reservation.  It was also  highly recommended by the Disney Food Blog and we enjoyed trying the three 1/2 pound cookies that I bought.  The leftovers should make for a delicious breakfast treat in the morning.  I was impressed that we made it until 10 p.m. tonight after getting up at 5:30 this morning and spending the day traveling.  Thankfully, our hotel was a short walk from Disney Springs making it a wonderful first day of our Florida vacation.  

The Downside of Traveling

I love to travel and am excited that Doug and I are able to go to Florida together this week.  I know that I will thoroughly enjoy the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival and can’t wait to see Ocala as well.  It has been quite some time since we have gone anywhere except for a few trips to Bloomington.  As excited as I am to get away, there are some parts of traveling that I dread.

The first negative to traveling is getting the house in order before we leave.  I spent this week picking up, organizing and cleaning.  I could have left it for  when I returned, but there will be enough to do when I get back without the extra burden of cleaning the house.  The second downside to traveling is packing.  It seems to take three times the amount of planning as unpacking does.  In the past we always had a travel bag ready since we were frequently on the go.  Since traveling hasn’t been a priority this past year and toiletries were in short supply for awhile, I hadn’t kept the bag stocked.  Thus, this trip included a Walmart before I could finish packing.  

The first two “negatives” are really just more of a nuisance and will be well worth it once we arrive at our destination.  The absolute wort part of traveling for me is flying.  I used to have no issues with being on an airplane.  We traveled to Florida yearly when I was a child and I actually enjoyed it.  My parents always bought me an invisible ink book to complete on the flight I knew at the end that I would get to see my grandparents.  A bad incident with turbulence in my early twenties changed my attitude toward flying.  It was the scariest and longest flight that I had ever had to endure.  

Since that time period I have completely dreaded flying.  No matter what I do, I can’t relax and nothing reduces my anxiety level.  I realize that it is an irrational fear and have done a lot better with it in the past few years.  The fifteen month drought from traveling, however, has gotten me out of the habit of flying and I am back to being extremely anxious just thinking about it.  I know that I have to get over it or otherwise we will be stuck at home forever.  Thus, I will use my energy to pray for an easy, safe flight tomorrow.  That will go a long way toward returning our life to the one before the pandemic drastically changed the Heinisch family travel journeys.

The Vermont Teddy Bear Company

Before Doug and I got married he gave me a Vermont Teddy Bear bride as a gift for our upcoming nuptials.  He followed it up with a groom Vermont Teddy bear on our one year anniversary as well as a maternity bear made by the same company when I got pregnant with Brett.  I loved the bears and they made for a nice display in our home for years.  At some point, however, they lost their place on the shelf above the door to make room for the Heinisch children's artwork.  

I looked for my bears while we were cleaning out the basement storage room in February, but couldn't find them.  I was worried that somehow they had ended up in a garage sale pile and sold years ago, but was hopeful that I would run across them as we got the house ready to sale.  Fortunately, I didn't have to wait two years to find out their fate.  When Doug was up in the attic last weekend, he handed me down a box and there they were.  I was thrilled to have run across them and inspected them immediately.  The bears themselves had held up very well.  The maternity dress was still nice, but the wedding gown and the groom's tuxedo were showing a lot of wear and discoloration.  I decided to brush the bears real well and try washing their clothes.  The maternity dress looked as good as new once it was cleaned, but the other two outfits had definitely seen better days.  Once I dressed the bears they looked a little better, but I still hoped to figure out a different plan for the bride and groom.  I did some research on the internet and found out that the Vermont Teddy Bear Company was actually still in business.  They even had a phone number for me to call to order new clothes.  For now I will keep the bears as they were, but hope to update their wardrobe in the near future.  Either way they are still adorable and I'm glad that they have a prominent place in my room once again.

 

A Long Time Coming

 Today I did something that I hadn't done since March 6th, 2020.  I finally got a real haircut.  I was definitely ready to get one and wished that I could have gone earlier, but every time I thought about making an appointment, the pandemic would rear its ugly head and I would delay it.  I finally decided that the numbers of positive Covid cases in our county would probably never change, so I waited until after I had been fully vaccinated to call AK Hare.  I did cut my own hair twice during the past year.  The front was easy to take a couple of inches off and it actually didn't look to bad, but the back was driving me absolutely crazy.  Even if Meg had been here to trim it for me as she had been in the winter, I still would have made an appointment.  It needed professional help.

This morning I did try to talk myself out of going.  Both Brett and Meg told me that there wasn't any reason to worry since I had been vaccinated.  Once I explained that I was actually more worried about have to  interact with those outside of our home, they completely understood.  I don't go very many places, so it was a huge step for me.  Thankfully, I've known Amanda since high school and once I got there it was easy to fall right back into our normal conversations and I was happy to catch up with her.  She was also very strict about mask wearing which made me feel a lot more comfortable.  In the end I was extremely glad that I went.  My hair looked so much better and as an added bonus I was able to finally get my lip waxed.  I was so tired of taking care of it myself.  

The Generation Gap

When we cleaned out the attic yesterday we brought down the bassinet, Pack n Play and play pen that we used with the Heinisch children.  We don't need them yet and still had plenty of room to store these baby items in the attic, but I wanted to clean them up and make sure that they all still worked.  A lot of fun memories came flooding back as I checked through them.  We had definitely gotten a lot of use out of all three and I was glad to see that they still worked well.  Doug and I are not ready for grandchildren, but realize that these would be perfect to use wherever we are living if and when Brett, Cal, Meg or Cam visit us with their own children. 

As I was cleaning I thought a lot about how much has changed over the past fifteen years in regards to having children.  It seems to have become more and more acceptable for children to be born out of wedlock to teenage mothers.  I am sure that some of that is due to shows such as "16 and Pregnant" that romanticize having children at an early age.  In these shows as in real life parents and grandparents become excited about the prospect of having another baby in the family or home without thinking about the longterm consequences.  As a teacher I saw the reality of those circumstances and most were extremely challenging situations for the child.  Being raised by a grandparent is never the best case scenario.  It ruins that familial relationship between the two and blurs the boundaries of parent, child and grandparent.

The other big difference between when we had our children and today is gender revel parties.  I don't know if I am just out of touch or too far removed from being a new mother, but I just don't understand them.  If it took the place of a baby shower, I might understand it more, but most families have both, which means double the amount of gifts and commitments for friends and family members.  These parties have also seemed to have taken on a life of their own with bigger and better revels planned.  In the last month I have actually read about several different individuals who were killed in a gender reveal accident or explosion.  That seems crazy to me.  Doug and I did not find out the sex of any of the Heinisch children before they were born as we wanted to be surprised.  We realize that not everyone wants to be surprised for a variety of reasons, but having a huge party to celebrate the gender of a baby seems incredibly strange.  There's so much more to having a child than worrying about the gender.  I have even heard several soon-to-be parents express disappointment when they found out the gender wasn't what they wanted.  I don't understand how admitting to those around you that you really wanted a girl or a boy instead would be a positive situation.  I wonder what happens to a child's self esteem when they found out years later that their parents or grandparents really wanted a different gender child.  

I guess it just feels to me that some parents and grandparents have forgotten that children are actually a gift from God.  They are not put on this earth to be our entertainment or to make up for some personal disappointment in our own life.  They are to serve God's purpose.  We are to raise them and love them, but not expect them to entertain or serve us.  I realize that one day the Heinisch children may have their own children to raise.  I hope that I always look upon them as a gift to the world and not put undo expectations on them.  I hope to love and support them and place their importance in a proper perspective.  I believe that is more important than any party I could plan for them.  

Some Great Finds

Cameron had another busy day today as he played golf, visited Bailee, went shopping at Target and ended his outing at Breece's surprise 17th birthday party.  He has definitely taken advantage of having his driver's license.  We've enjoyed listening to all of the adventures that he's been having.  Today he ran inside to let us know that the key was stuck in the ignition and there was nothing he could do to get it out.  I causally asked, "Did you put the van in park?"  He went back out to check and sure enough problem solved

While Cameron was out Doug decided that our downsizing project of the weekend was to clean out the attic.  Since he's the only one that goes up there, I wasn't sure what that would entail.  The attic definitely took us a lot longer than I thought that it would, but in the end we were both glad that we worked on it.  We were able to throw out an entire garbage can of items plus fill part of Grandma's.  As has become the norm there were quite a few empty boxes stored in the attic that needed to be recycled.  Doug also had two cases of empty beer bottles that he had saved when he thought about making his own beer.  Those went into the recycling pile as well.  A Star Wars slip and slide, a framed monopoly poster and a few pairs of shoes were just some of the items that we hauled out of the attic to store at Grandma's for the garage sale.  We found another box of my awards from golf.  I was a little overwhelmed when I saw those, but after I decided to put them aside to work on after we got back from Florida, I felt better.  Doug brought down Cal's golf net.  He's going to set that up in the backyard for Cameron to use as well as the hammock.  There was an area rug for Brett's apartment and several kitchen trash cans that Meg could use in her new apartment as well.  I don't know what I was most excited about finding up in the attic - Jim's paintings and drawings, my wedding Vermont Teddy Bears or the Winnie the Pooh comforter set that all of the Heinisch children used as a toddler.  Between those and the artwork that we cleaned off of the shelf above the front door, it was a fun afternoon of walking down memory lane.  We didn't keep everything, but enjoyed the pieces that we stored away.  I wasn't sure that I wanted to take on the attic today, but in the end felt happy to have completed another big project in our goal to downsize by the time Cam graduates.  

Fryday

Bethany was able to host its biannual fish fry today as a carry out only event.  At first Cameron wasn't too excited about working it as he would have to miss golf practice.  In the end, however, he had so much fun that he was definitely glad to have participated.  Cameron was chosen to be a section head this year and shadowed a junior with the same position.  They helped with traffic which ended up being a fairly busy job.  They had to weave the line through the parking lot and out around the tennis courts.  Even with that they still had cars backed up all the way to the Goshen hospital.  Doug got to see him at work as he waited thirty-five minutes for our fish.  The dinner was good as always, but we decided that next year we would pick it up around 7 p.m. instead of 4:30.  Cameron said that they only had one car every five minutes by then.  Either way, Cameron really enjoyed the night and had a lot of fun with his friends at Culver's afterward.

Meg left this morning so she wasn't able to relive her high school days at the fish fry.  She said that she and Sarah had done enough of that last night as they went to Walmart, walked along the bike path behind Bethany and ordered BW's for dinner.  Even though it was a short trip home and Meg was busy studying, we really enjoyed having her here and look forward to her return in May.

Almost There

Meg had an early morning orthodontist appointment today which proved to be successful.  Everything looked perfect for her to get her braces off in May except for one area that still needed to close from when she had her baby teeth extracted two years ago.  They added a ball and chain to her bracket and said that it should do the trick.  She confirmed her next appointment for May 10th and grabbed a big pop on the way home to celebrate the news.  

This afternoon Meg joined me for Cameron's match against Goshen and Elkhart at Black Squirrel.  It was a little cool, but overall a nice evening for golf.  Meg stayed for a couple of holes, while Doug, Grandpa and I followed along for the rest.  Cameron played well especially his eight foot and under putting.  He stepped onto the ninth tee with two pars and five bogeys hoping to finish with a 42 or 43.  Unfortunately, his second shot landed under a pine tree.  He was able to get it out and even hit the green, but it took a hard hop and ended up out of bounds.  From there he finished with a ten on the par five.  Although it wasn't the score that he wanted and was extremely disappointing for him, we saw signs of consistent play on the horizon with lower scores in the near future.  The best part of the night was that Sam, Avery and Richard were waiting for him after he turned in his score which definitely helped cheer him up.

A Big Day in the Life of a Sixteen Year Old

Today was the day that Cameron had been waiting for for the past six months.  He and I were up bright and early and were the second group into the BMV in Goshen to get his driver's license.  It was a lot less stressful than when I took Brett, Cal and Meg as he had already passed the driver's test.  He only had to bring his driving certificates and the sheet showing his fifty hours of driving.  After he passed a vision test, he was first in line to get his picture taken.  As an added bonus, it was a good one at that.  We even made it to Bethany before school started at 9 a.m. this morning.  

Cam's exciting day didn't end there.  He had an afternoon appointment to get his second Covid vaccination.  I had Grandma Jane pick me up at Bethany so that Cameron could drive home on his own.  His first solo trip went well.  He also did a nice job driving to and from Plymouth once again for his vaccine.  Even if I had been willing to let him drive the 45 minutes to his appointment, I didn't have a choice except to go with him.  I had to sign a release form for him to get his shot.  In the end I was really glad that I went with him as we encountered multiple snow squalls on the way there making it a little hard to see.  Thankfully, all went well and by 2 p.m. Cameron was fully vaccinated and on his way to Arby's to get a milkshake to celebrate.

It was too late for Cam to go back to school, so we headed home next.  I really thought that they would cancel practice for the third night in a row as the snow squalls wouldn't let up.  Finally, the snow subsided leaving a sunny, cool afternoon.  Cameron headed to Parmore for practice at 3:30.  Even though it wasn't open for business, the boys were still able to take advantage of the range by hitting their own golf balls.  

Cameron called at the end of practice to see what we thought about him going to the girls softball game at Bethany.  We felt it was a great idea and told him to check in with us when it was over.  We heard back from him around 7:30 letting us know that the girls had won and that he was hoping to go to the Chief with Bailee to celebrate the accomplishments of the day.  Cameron arrived home at 9:15 that night, excited to finally found have some freedom.  Needless to say, we were very happy for him.

You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

Meg arrived this afternoon extremely glad to be home.  She had an orthodontist appointment on Thursday and thought she'd use the extra couple of days at home to complete a project and study.  As happy as she was to see us, she was completely disappointed with the weather.  She had left the sunny, sixty degree temperatures in Bloomington for thirties and snow here in Northern Indiana.  Even with the disappointment of the frigid temperatures we really enjoyed seeing Meg and catching up on her life.  I believe, however, Meg may have been most excited to see Rizzo.  Can't say that he felt the same about being home as he spent the day hiding in his house except to come out and beg for carrots.

As Meg was arriving, Cal was leaving.  They got a chance to talk before he headed out the door.  I was sad to see him go as I had really enjoyed having him here the past few days.  The nice part about Cal's visits are that they occur often, so I don't have to miss him too long.  A lot of times they are unexpected as well which makes them even more fun.  Saying goodbye to Cal tonight while saying hello to Meg at the same time made me appreciate having four children even more.  They definitely keep us busy and add a lot of excitement to our lives.  I wouldn't change that for anything.  

A Quick Trip Home

Cal texted me very early to let me know that he wanted to come home last night if I could get him a Covid vaccine scheduled for Monday.  He had time this week as Plante Moran wanted him to focus primarily on studying for the last portion of the CPA that he needed to pass.  Although he wasn't overly excited about studying or getting a shot, he was excited to hear that he had finished fourth in hours worked during busy season out of all of the new hirers.  

Fortunately, I was able to get him an appointment first thing this morning at Goshen Health center for the Pfizer vaccination.  He had no problems getting in and was back at home working by 8:30 a.m. Chicago time.  I was very happy that we were finally able to find him a time and date that worked for him.  It was also nice to have him home for a couple of days.  I tried to stay out of his way while he was working, but did get to visit with him during lunch.  I was glad to hear that he felt pretty well overall after the vaccination, just a little tired.  Once he finished working, he went over to the Lamles to visit Winston.  He then ate dinner with Grandma and Grandpa while watching Jeopardy.  This evening he asked us to watch Predator with him.  I had forgotten how much I liked the movie.  The rest of the night we debated with Doug about which was better Alien or Predator.  Much to Doug's disappointment, Cal, Brett and I picked Predator.

The Ups and Downs of Spring Weather

The past few days have been fairly cold here which has been a sharp contrast to the weather we had over spring break.  I don't know if it was the near 80 degree temperatures that we had then or my impatience for spring to arrive for good, but the past few days have been kind of depressing as far as the weather has been concerned.  We've actually had to break out our winter coats for a good part of the day when were outside.  

Today was the exception to the crummy weather pattern as it ended up being absolutely gorgeous by mid afternoon.  Doug and I took several walks and he even mowed part of the front yard.  Cameron spent the entire afternoon at the golf course without even having to use hand warmers.  Meg called to let me know that it was so nice there that she decided to get out of her apartment for awhile and take a study break just to enjoy the sunshine.  

Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the upcoming week predicted a drastic turn from today.  Although tomorrow would start off nice, the temperatures for the rest of the week were dismal and there was even talk of snow on Tuesday.  As the freeze warning for Monday night came across my phone tonight I thought about all of those individuals that planted flowers over spring break.  As beautiful as they looked and as much as I wanted to join them, I'm glad in the end that we decided to wait.  Spring is by far the most fickle of the four seasons in Indiana and this year has been no exception.  

The Caston Invitational

Today was Cameron's first official tournament of his high school career.  It was played at Pond View Golf Club in Star City, Indiana.  In all our years of traveling to golf matches and tournaments we had finally found a course that we had never been to or even heard of before.  Even my Dad hadn't been there before.  It was a long drive, about an hour and a half from Syracuse.  It almost felt like it was in the middle of a few cow pastures.  The course was definitely interesting.  It reminded us of  Cascades in Bloomington  only with a lot tighter fairways.  There were quite a few trees on each hole, a few water hazards and some areas of bare grass.

Much like a lot of high school tournaments there were some ups and downs.  Cameron started off on fire with three straight pars.  We were impressed as they were some challenging holes.  He then pulled his drive on the fourth hole leading to a frustrating double par.  He parred the next hole and I had hoped that he would rebound and still shoot in the mid 80s.  He definitely tried, but several nice looking approach shots that hit the middle of the green sailed off of it creating a double bogey situation for Cam.  In the end Cameron scored higher than he would have liked, but still finished 7th overall out of 43 players.  His team did well finishing 4th out of nine.  No matter his score, we all enjoyed following him today and as an added bonus I got my 10,000 steps.

Ready for The Weekend

I was so glad that today was Friday.  Doug was gone last weekend and I was looking forward to spending time with him.  Once he got home tonight from picking up Cameron at golf practice, the three of us ordered Pizza Hut and settled in for the evening.  Cam skipped out of our games of Ticket to Ride instead joining an online game of Jackpot with his friends.  We didn't mind as we knew that he would enjoy that much more than hanging out with his parents.

After Doug won both of our games this evening, we decided to watch a movie.  Cal had suggested "Escape from New York" to us.  He had seen it on HBO Max earlier in the week and really liked it.  It was  from 1981 and starred Kurt Russell.  It had a lot of action and an interesting story revolving around a prison built in Manhattan.  The president's plane had crashed inside its walls and Kurt Russell had to save him.  It definitely kept us entertained and capped off a fun start to the weekend.  

Well, That Was Disappointing

 Doug worked from home today as he had a health care meeting in Warsaw to attend first thing this morning.  It was nice to have him here even though he was busy for most of the day.  We planned on going to Cameron's match at Black Squirrel together, but found out that Cameron would need a ride to the golf course.  Thus, I left for Bethany at 3:10 with several layers of clothes for Cameron as well as hand warmers.  The temperature was in the upper forties, which wasn't too cold, but I wanted to be prepared.  I also wore a few extra layers and brought a winter coat as well.  

I dropped Cam at the golf course and saw his coach and a few Goshen and Elkhart players there as well.  I told Cameron that I was going to run to Menards to pick up a few items and would be back well before the match started.  While I was shopping, my phone rang.  I saw it was Cameron and figured that he needed something else.  I was completely surprised when I heard him say that the match was postponed until next week.  I texted Doug right away so that he wouldn't leave Syracuse, bought the Snapple in my cart and headed back to Black Squirrel.  To say that Cameron was disappointed was an understatement.  He was more than ready to play and hoping to repeat his performance on Monday night.  Doug and I were absolutely floored that the match was postponed.  In all of the years that we had been attending golf matches and tournaments we could think of only a couple of events that were postponed or cancelled, especially after the teams had arrived.  Those were done because of heavy rains or freezing temperatures with snow.  As a former coach Doug said that he would have definitely pushed everyone to play.  It's hard to come up with an alternative date and the weather could once again be an issue.  

On the way home the temperature hit fifty degrees and the sun shone through the clouds.  Cameron decided to use the free night to play at Maxwelton.  Unfortunately, there was a match in progress when we arrived, so he headed home instead.  It wasn't the night he had hoped to have.  We tried to make the best of it, but not much made it any better.  Hopefully, the weather warms up and this is the last of the schedule changes.  

Vaccine Pause

After practice yesterday Cameron told me that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had been put on pause.  Six people had developed a rare blood disorder that led to life threatening blood clots.  One of them had actually died from the presumed vaccine side effect.  At first it sounded scary.  Both Doug and Nick had had the one and done shot already.  I was concerned about them until Cameron said that it was six individuals out of 7 million people that had been vaccinated.  All were women of child bearing age and there was discussion already that it may have been from birth control hormones.  Since neither Doug nor Nick fit in the high risk category, I stopped worrying.  Doug and I talked about the signs of a blood clot just to be informed and Meg checked in with Nick about it as well.

Today the after effects of the vaccine being put on pause hit closer to home.  Cal was scheduled to have the Johnson & Johnson one at the Speedway in Indy on Sunday April 25th.  It was the perfect fit for him as it was the only day that he was available in the month of April to get the shot and it would have meant only one trip down state for him.  I spent all of tonight trying to come up with a different plan for him, but the only other place to hold a mass vaccination clinic on a Sunday was in Gary.  The area it was set up in gave Doug pause, so in the end we decided to wait a few more days to make a decision.  The FDA and CDC had promised to make a decision on the J & J vaccine as quickly as possible.  Every time I think that we have moved passed Covid, it just seems to raise its ugly head once again.  

He's Home!

Doug just returned from a nine day business trip to Ocala in which work was the dominant theme.  He said that April would be an extremely busy month for him and it definitely started out that way.  He spent almost every evening after work in his hotel room on his computer.  He did find some time to work out with Team Body Project and to see his Dad for lunch, but overall he was "busy, busy, dreadfully busy" as the Veggie Tales song sang out.  As much as we missed him, I realized that if he was home it would have been much of the same - head down, working.  I also knew that he would still have quite a bit to do these next couple of weeks, but that didn't matter to me.  Cameron and I did a great job of staying busy and making our own meals, but we were ready to have him home instead of talking to him on the phone.  There will be more trips for Doug in the near future, but there should be less that include weekend stays.  I was very glad to hear that.  

First High School Golf Match

Today was Bethany's first high school golf match of the season and Cameron's first one as an official Bruin.  To say he was nervous would be an understatement.  He talked about and thought about the match all weekend.  I tried to underplay it for him, but it didn't matter what I said.  He was more than hyped up for it.  

The match was played against Northridge and Fairfield at both of their home courses, Meadow Valley Golf Club.  The venue was a good one for Cameron as he had played there multiple times a summer for the past several years.  I arrived shortly before they sent the boys out to their respective holes to start.  Cameron played the #1 position for Bethany and began the match on hole number 3.  The first hole was a tough one as Cameron pushed the ball on his first two shots of the day and ended up with a double bogey on the hole.  I wasn't too surprised as I knew that he was struggling with the ball going right and I knew that he was really nervous.  He was playing with someone that he knew from the Lifestyle Tour and I was sure that he felt a lot of pressure to beat him.  His nerves settled down on the next hole, however, as he chipped it within six inches of the hole giving him a par.  

It was a lot of fun to watch the rest of his round.  Cameron hit some fantastic drives, made several pars and handled the wind well.  Grandma, Grandpa and I followed him and enjoyed being a part of his first match.  We were all pleased to hear that he had shot a 44 when he walked off the last hole.  Even better he had beaten both of the #1 players from Northridge and Fairfield.  Cam stayed with his team until everyone finished, so we didn't find out until later that he had actually placed 2nd out of all fifteen players as the Northridge #3 player shot a 41.  I was thrilled for Cameron as I know that he had worked really hard this past week.  The greens were challenging to putt on and the conditions weren't the easiest to play with today.  Cameron called his Dad as soon as he got in the van to let him know how he did.  Afterward he filled me in on his thoughts for the round and his plans on what to work on tomorrow.  I don't know if he'll sleep tonight, but at least he will have good thoughts going through his head.

 

A Quiet Spring Break

So many memories popped up on my phone this past week of all of the spring break trips that we had taken over the years.  Boston, Washington D.C., Florida and Texas were just a few of the places that we had visited.  The pictures were fun to look at and I was amazed at how many trips that we had taken in the spring time.  A long trip wasn't in the cards for the Heinisch family this spring break.  Due to Doug's work schedule and Cam's desire to play golf our spring break was to be spent in Indiana this year.

Even though it was low key and Doug spent the majority of Cameron's break in Ocala, we did still have a wonderful week.  It was nice to spend three days in Bloomington for Easter weekend before Doug left.  We always have fun going hiking, enjoying outdoor dining and seeing Meg and Brett.  I felt like God smiled on our area the rest of break as the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  Cameron played golf every day either with his team, with his grandparents or on his own at Maxwelton.  He also got to play endless games of driveway basketball and watch the masters.  We played more Euchre this week than we had in the entire year of 2020 and we found one of our old favorites on Paramount +, Ned's Declassified to watch.  We also took care of some important medical needs as I made it to my second vaccine appointment and Cam was able to catch up on a much overdue physical.  Overall, it was a nice, relaxing week that we both hated to see end.  

Game Night

 Our nights have been pretty open this spring break so most of them have been filled with endless rounds of Euchre.  As far as card games go I prefer Oh Hell, but without Doug it isn't the same.  No one else cheers themselves on the way that he does, especially with his infamous clap.  Euchre has been fun, however.  Although it does take some skill, a lot of it depends on the luck of the deal.  Sometimes it can also change due to the partner that you have.  Everyone has different thoughts on what to make trump, how to lead, or when to go it alone.  

Although we usually end up pretty even in our matches, tonight I absolutely go destroyed at partner Euchre.  It seemed that every hand was full or nines and tens and very little trump.  I lost all three games and scored very few points.  The card gods must have felt sorry for me during our Buck Euchre round as that I actually won easily.  I cannot remember that ever happening.  Win or lose, Euchre, has been a great way to pass the nights.  It can get pretty quiet here with Doug in Ocala.  He did call to check in during our game, which almost made it feel like he was here.  Won't be long until he's back in town and we can break out the Oh Hell!  We are definitely ready to get rid of the "Vicky Bird."

Driving Around the Amish

 Cam has had a busy spring break week with multiple trips to Goshen for doctor's appointments, golf practice and visiting friends.  He's driven very well and I feel really good about him getting his driver's license on the 21st of April.  Today's trip was a little more exasperating than normal, however.  Cam's coach held practice at Meadow Valley in Middlebury this afternoon.  Cameron was excited about playing the course as they had their first match scheduled there on Monday with Northridge.  We had been there several times in the past, but Cameron had never driven it.  After driving there today he's decided that he's not moving to Millersburg or Middlebury anytime soon.  

Cameron used the GPS on his phone to route the trip which seemed pretty straight forward traveling on US 6 and State Road 13.  Cam's learned to navigate the roundabout on US 6 very well, so it was fairly smooth sailing until we got to Millersburg.  A horse and buggy pulled out in front of us and proceeded to drive extremely slow and to take up two lanes.  There was another buggy coming toward us, so we had no chance of getting around the one in our lane.  Thus, we had to follow it for close to two miles.  Once we did pass it, Cam had to navigate the ninety degree turns on 13.  Next, we came upon a stop sign where a semi almost ran us off the road.  Immediately following that, an Amish man on a riding mower headed straight toward the van.  He turned without hitting us, but flung a great big rock into our door.  We then drove the rest of the way to the golf course on extremely bumpy roads thanks to the horse hooves and buggy wheels that had worn down the asphalt.  By the time Cameron pulled into the golf course we were both ready to be done with the trip.

Thankfully, the traffic didn't affect Cam's golf game.  He hit golf balls with his teammates and then played seven holes.  He was happy to report that he was three over when they finished.  Fortunately, the drive home was a lot easier.  We used my internal GPS and found a back way with a lot less traffic.  I don't know if it was quicker, but it was a lot less stressful and Cam was able to fill me in on his round shot by shot.  

Patio Furniture - New & Repurposed

At the end of last summer I asked Doug what he thought about giving Brett some of our patio chairs from the back deck.  I was ready to replace some of ours and thought they'd be perfect for his balcony.  Brett had made good use of our old white plastic chairs during grad school and at his current apartment, but they had become stained from the years of use and the standing water that ran off of his room when it rained.  Doug was the one who actually used them the most and I thought they'd work better for him.  Doug agreed, so I sent pictures of them to Brett.  He really liked them and we made plans to get them to him.  As the time drew nearer for our trip to IU I remembered that Meg would have a balcony as well in her new apartment.  Thus, more chairs went on the list to send to Bloomington.

While returning a router to Target that we bought but did not need, Doug found some pretty blue patio chairs that matched our red ones out back.  They were a great price and we discussed buying them to replace the ones that we took to B-Town.  I had hoped to pick them up Easter weekend, but they were out of them.  Once I realized that they were a hot commodity I ordered them right away from Goshen and was thankful that Cam was available to help me pick them up.  They looked great with our table and after I moved the light blue chairs from the front porch to the back we once again had enough seating for everyone on the deck plus chairs for our bonfire pit.

All of the rearranging of patio furniture left a hole on the front porch.  I had always wanted white, wooden rockers to match the railing around our porch and decided to check Menards and Walmart to see what they had available.  I didn't have any luck at the first stop, but Walmart had exactly what I was looking for and for the perfect price.  They only had one rocker available, but I would be able to order two online.  I showed them to Doug and he thought they'd be perfect, so I ordered them right away.  There was a delay in shipping, but thankfully they both arrived unharmed by the middle of this week.  I decided that I would try to put them together so that Doug wouldn't have to when he got home.  Cam was available to help if I needed him, but once I figured out the Allen key I had no problems and soon we had a wonderful area to sit at on our front porch.

Blast From the Past

While I was walking through Target with Meg last weekend I got a notification on my phone from Facebook messenger.  I opened it and was completely surprised to see a message from my friend, Jim Kenney, from college.  I was thrilled to hear from him as it had been several years since he messaged me.  I also found it ironic that I heard from him while I was in Bloomington as that was where I usually thought about him most.  From his messages I realized that he was also glad to see the end of the Trump presidency, could relate to living in MAGA land, and was ready to down size and move as well.  Just like our family he had seen ups and downs this past year and was thankful to have been vaccinated already.  I filled him in on what our family had been up to and what was going on in Bloomington hoping to hear from him again soon.

I thought a lot about Jim today as I was taking it easy and sorting through some of my memory tubs from high school and college.  Jim was always such an important part of my life and even though we chose different paths after IU with him ending up in California and Doug and I staying in Indiana, I had thought of him often.  I loved all of the fun things that we did the four years that we lived in the same town.  From burning his artwork to repotting a plant to having German fest to cleaning his apartment, it was always awesome to spend time with him.  Jim taught me that it was ok to be me and that I didn't have to compromise who I was to be with friends with someone.  He introduced me to Doug and always made time for me.  I loved my days at IU, but once we had a family I began to cherish the time with the Heinisch family more.  Jim was the only thing that I really missed from my time in B-Town.  

After the messages that I received today, I hoped that I would be able to see Jim again.  Maybe it won't work just yet, but hopefully in the future.  He was the person who told me that just because I was friends with someone in the past, that I didn't have to remain friends with them forever.  He also was the one who told me that it was ok to go years without seeing someone and pick up right where you were.  With Jim it was always the later.  I was extremely thankful for that today.  

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

 Today started off great.  I felt awesome when I woke up.  I took Cam to play golf and exercised.  I started two loads of laundry and put the rest of what we unpacked from Bloomington away.  Cam and Breece made plans to play tennis in the afternoon.  Breece offered to take Cam to Black Squirrel for practice after they finished their tennis match.  Since it was less than ten minutes from Bethany I agreed and headed to Walmart to buy groceries after I dropped Cam off at the tennis courts.  I had extra time once I unloaded the groceries before I had to go back to Goshen, so I took a 40 minute walk.  In retrospect I probably should have taken it easy instead, but it was so incredibly gorgeous out and I wanted to spend some time in the sunshine on this record high day.

I got home and sat down for a little while after I walked.  Meg called and as we were catching up I realized that I wasn't feeling well.  She thought it was the heat as it was the first 80 degree day of the year.  I actually thought I was hungry.  I decided to try a small snack and an ice pack for my neck but after fifteen minutes I still didn't feel quite right.  Even though I had had my second shot over twenty-four hours earlier, I decided to go ahead and see if I had a fever.  Lo and behold it read 100 degrees.  I was floored as my temperature usually stays around 96.7.  I tried it again, but it read the same. 

I spent the next fifteen minutes trying to get my fever to come down.  The ice packs helped a little, but once my heart rate when up I decided that it was time to call my parents to pick up Cameron at Black Squirrel.  I was afraid that my heart would start racing on the way over or that I would get a migraine.  They didn't mind going, but as soon as I called them I started crying.  I had prided myself on being independent while Doug was gone, so I was pretty mad that I had to ask anyone to do anything for me.  Thankfully, they were able to help and I laid down until Cam got here.  I still felt horrible the rest of the night and my fever never dropped below 100 degrees, but I was able to play some cards for a little while and  fold all of the laundry that I started.  I was exhausted by the time I thought about going to bed, but at least I knew that my vaccine was working.  The side effects were nothing compared to getting Covid.

On the Road to Being Fully Vaccinated

 I had been waiting for this day for the past month.  My second Moderna vaccine was scheduled for this afternoon.  I was so excited for it that I showed up forty minutes early.  Most of the workers weren't even back from lunch when I walked in to the Noble County Library.  When I arrived, the parking lot was empty and I was afraid that I had the wrong date.  Thankfully, that was not the case and a volunteer went ahead and registered me early.  One of the paramedics was there as well and offered to start the vaccines.  He was as happy to give it to me as I was to receive it.  They only had me wait for fifteen minutes this time as I did not have an adverse reaction to the first shot.  I stayed a little longer than that just to be sure.  I did feel some allergy issues on the way home, but once I took the bandaid off, I was fine.  I know that the bandaids are "not made with latex", but they really seem to bother me anyway.  

The drive home went well.  I felt so incredibly blessed to have come full circle in this pandemic.  It's hard to believe that a year ago our whole world changed so drastically and now I was vaccinated against this unknown virus.  I wished that everyone would take the chance on the vaccine, but for now was just content that I was one of the 1.2 million Hoosiers that had become fully vaccinated.  I was also proud of the fact that Meg, Brett and Doug were part of that statistic as well and that Cal and Cam were on their way there as well.  

Because of all of the feedback that Doug and I had heard from those who had the Moderna shot, I expected side effects from the second dose.  By the time I finished watching Baylor beat Gonzaga in the Men's NCAA basketball tournament late this evening, the only side effect that I did have was pain at the injection site.  I hoped that it would stay that way as I had been worried all along about the racing heartbeat and migraines that others had talked about.  Those were two side effects that I really did not want.  Although it would be well worth to avoid the coronavirus.

A Beautiful Easter

Today was the warmest Easter that I could remember in all of our years of living in Indiana.  It actually reminded me of the ones that we had celebrated when we visited Florida over spring break.  We took advantage of the warm weather by enjoying a picnic at Oliver Winery.  We hadn't been there since last November and it was surprisingly not very crowded.  We made time to walk around campus this afternoon as well.  Brett had to work at Bell Trace and Meg needed to study so we cut our afternoon short, but it sure was gorgeous while we were outside.  

Brett, Cam and Meg did make time to open their Easter baskets before Cam and I headed back to Syracuse.  It was the first year since 1997 that there was not an egg hunt in the Heinisch family.  That felt a little strange, but the tradition had to end sometime and it made sense for it to happen this year.  I was happy that Doug, Meg and Brett were able to attend Easter mass together this evening at St. Paul's.  Last year we watched it on television and it just wasn't the same.  It wasn't feasible for Cam and I to go this time, but hopefully we will be able to return to church soon.  

I drove the first half of our trip home.  It was more crowded than I expected it to be, especially on state road 67.  Cameron picked up the driving duty once we got to Westfield.  We got detoured on the way home and ended up having to drive through Warsaw.  It took a little longer, but as an added bonus we were able to pick up Subway for dinner.  It was the only Subway open in the area due to the holiday, so we felt thankful for the rerouted path.  It was after 8 before we arrived and I still wanted to get in some steps before dark.  Thus, the van didn't get unloaded until dark.  Doug called to let us know that he and Brett went to Upland Brewery for dinner.  Cam and I would have enjoyed that, but he was ready to get home and I already had my vaccine appointment scheduled for tomorrow.  I definitely didn't want to miss that.  It was a wonderful weekend in Bloomington.  We're hoping to get to spend more like it in the near future.

Brown County and More

Everyone got up early this morning to play Ticket to Ride with Brett.  We had planned on it last night, but watched The Emperor's New Groove instead.  We had eaten out so many times already that we decided on leftovers for lunch.  It was strange to have ordered out that much as we seldom do at home.  The guys had a 12:10 tee time at Cascades.  Cameron had shot a 38 yesterday and was hoping to stay in the same range today.  While they were gone, I cut Brett's hair.  It was by far the longest that I had ever seen it and he was more than ready for a trim.  Unfortunately as I was cutting it, I accidentally slashed my finger.  I had never done that before and it made it a little challenging to finish the haircut.  Thankfully, we made it through and Brett was happy with the outcome.

With Brett at work and the guys golfing, I worked some more on organizing a few areas of Brett's apartment.  Meg will be moving in the first part of May so she will need some room.  He is also scheduled to have his apartment remodeled and will have to have his personal items boxed up for the quick renovation.  Meg arrived from Bell Trace just as I finished.  She grabbed the box of bourbon chicken for lunch before she headed home to shower.  Once Meg got ready and the guys finished golfing we all drove to Brown County for an afternoon of hiking.  We went on the same three mile path that we had before, but did it in reverse this time.  It was a little more challenging as we had a fifteen minute straight uphill double digit stair climb to start and a long, steep downhill stretch on the way back.  As tough as it was, we all really enjoyed it.  

Dinner tonight was at Cafe Pizzeria.  Although Doug and I never dined there in college, their pizzas and Stromboli sandwiches have become a Heinisch family favorite.  They also have plenty of outdoor picnic bench seating on Kirkwood making it easy for a large group like ours.  Doug and I were wiped out from our afternoon hike that we decided after dinner to watch television and play games for the rest of the evening.  Brett made it home just after ten to join us, happy to be done with his work week and even more glad to have finished his Lenten promise of no alcohol for the season.  He planned to celebrate with a few beers after midnight.  

Meg's Birthday Celebration

Today was warmer than yesterday with a lot more sun.  It still felt a little cool, but overall a lot better than yesterday.  We spent the morning at Brett's playing games with he and Cameron which was very enjoyable.  Cameron also got some quality time on the Game Cube.  Meg met us after her class and we all ate Chipotle for lunch before Brett headed to work.  Cameron and Doug left for the golf course to play nine holes while Meg and I went grocery shopping.  It was nice to spend time with her and to shop in stores where everyone wore masks.

Once Cam and Doug returned, we headed to Kirkwood to check out the shops and grab an appetizer.  We appreciated that they had closed the street to car traffic and had picnic tables outside the restaurants for patrons to use.  Afterward we walked through campus before heading back to Brett's apartment.  We hadn't seen Meg since she had turned twenty and had brought down plenty of gifts for her.  She liked the jean shorts, money, candle and gold cross that she received, but I believe that her favorite gift was a Brita water filter pitcher.  We spent the rest of the evening watching Ned's Declassified and eat cajun food from Dat's.  It was a lot of fun and I was glad to have spent a full day in Bloomington just enjoying all of the local activities with our family.  

A Cold Start to Spring Break

 Today was the start of Cameron's spring break, but the weather sure didn't feel like it.  It was thirty degrees most of the day with windchills well below that.  It didn't stop Cameron, however, from enjoying his first free day of vacation.  He bundled up and headed to the golf course to play eighteen holes.  He was the only one on the course, which made for a quick round.  He said that it was definitely cold, but he was glad to have played.  

While Cameron was golfing, Doug and I packed for Bloomington.  He had worked at home and taken the afternoon off, which made getting ready a lot easier.  We decided to take two vehicles so that Doug could stay in Bloomington Sunday night.  He had a flight to Ocala schedule on Monday and it would mean a lot less driving for him.  We also had quite a bit of furniture and other items to take to Meg and Brett, so the extra space was much appreciated.  

Since we were taking the van, I decided to let Cameron drive part of the trip.  He made it all the way to Carmel before I had him pull over for a break and to switch drivers.  I was impressed with how well he did as he had to drive on US 24 and US 31.  Neither were too busy, but crowded enough to make changing lanes and navigating exits a little challenging. 

It took us some time to unload at Brett's.  I did as much as I could to get everything organized so that there was room for all of us.  Meg met us for dinner as we had ordered Mother Bear's pizza.  We spent the rest of the evening watching television and playing games.  Brett joined us after work and was ready for a game of Ticket to Ride.  Doug and I were glad to be back in Bloomington and had a wonderful evening with everyone.