Not My Favorite Day

Today has never been my favorite day of the year.  August 31 is the day that my brother, Bunk, died.  I try not to really think about that time period forty-five years ago as it is just too sad.  I prefer to think about my brother on October 8th, his birthday, or at holidays.  Those dates always bring back fond memories.

In thinking about it, I would say that there is nothing positive about losing a sibling.  Life changes forever when that happens.  I did learn a lot from the experience, however, which has made a positive difference in how I live my life.  The most important lesson was that life could change in a heartbeat.  Therefore, when Doug and I started having children, I knew that I wanted to spend as much time as possible with them while still letting them grow into the adult that they wanted to be.  We never smothered them, but stayed actively involved in their lives.  The Heinisch children were never coddled as hard work was expected, but we did help them whenever we thought it was appropriate.  We appreciated every moment with them, even the small ones.

The best part about creating a bond with our children over the last twenty-seven years is how it has affected our relationship with them as adults in so many positive ways.  We have remained close with them.  They have included us in their daily activities, their friendships, their work life and so much more.  Their texts and phone calls are always appreciated and we enjoy listening to what they have been doing.  

Thus, if I had one piece of advice for anyone with children, appreciate them in their youth and in their adulthood.  Listen to them, support them and make them a priority.  If you do not have the relationship with your adult children that you wanted, then you should do everything you can to fix it.  You should call them, communicate with them, and apologize if need be.  Take an interest in their life.  It's never too late, but it sure becomes harder if you do not realize that you are the reason that you do not have a positive relationship with your adult children.  It's hard to make that time up if you do not do it when they are young.  That's where what makes Harry Chapin's song "Cats in the Cradle" relevant even to this day.  If you didn't create the bond then, the likelihood of it happening later on dwindles greatly.  

Transmission Woes

 Jake's Auto called this afternoon to let us know that they thought the transmission light was on in the Pilot because the fluid was low.  They had put in more transmission fluid and felt that we would be good to go.  Doug and I were glad to hear that.  Unfortunately, our relief didn't last long as on the way to Prairie Heights the transmission light came on again.  I was actually surprised.  I really thought all along that it was a fluid issue. I also felt the Pilot was driving better.  My mom said that it rode fine to her as well.

I called Doug to let him know and we decided that we would probably have to get a second opinion.  I was worried as we had replaced a transmission before and I knew that it would be thousands of dollars if that was what was needed.  I definitely didn't have that in my budget right now, especially with Meg's tuition due next week.  Doug said not to worry about it.  There was a good chance that we wouldn't need to do a full transmission replacement and that we did have the home equity line if needed.  I wouldn't have been so worried about it, but our back up car was sixteen years old.  

Fortunately, Cameron had an exciting three set match tonight at Prairie Heights.  That took our minds off of the Pilot as we focused on the back and forth match.  Cameron was playing on the #2 singles court.  His opponent had won the conference title last year and had beaten Fremont's number 2 this year.  It was definitely one of the most even matches that I had seen in quite some time.  Cameron won the first set and his opponent won the second.  The third set was on serve until the very end when Cameron lost a deuce game.  His opponent took advantage of the opening and won the next game to win the set.  Cameron felt pretty good about it in the end.  He had played well.  He was most happy, however, about the fact that his team won the match as Noah won at #3 singles and both doubles teams were victorious as well.  Even with Cameron's loss, it definitely was a winner of a night.  

Power Outages

I was in Goshen today when Cameron called to tell me that he thought that the tennis match against Elkhart would be cancelled tonight.  There was a storm on the way and the radar looked ominous.  I had heard the same thing, but thought that it would come through later in the evening.  Since I was already in Goshen, I decided to stay and run to Kohl's to return an item.  That way if the storm did pass through quickly I wouldn't have to drive back from Syracuse.

It wasn't even 3:30 when I realized from the return line at Kohl's that Cameron was 100% correct.  There was a storm on the way and the black skies looked pretty intense.  I hurried through the return line, postponed my trip to Menards and started for home.  I called Cameron several times on the way to tell him to head home as well, but he didn't answer.  I was getting a little nervous on county road 17 as the winds had really picked up.  By the time I got to Kercher's Road, Cameron had returned my call and said he was on his way to Syracuse.  I was relieved to hear that.  

As I started down county road 29 I was worried about all of the trees.  The storm that we had had in June had brought down multiple trees along that path and I definitely didn't want one to fall on Cameron or I while we were driving.  About a mile or two down the road, I realized that the storm had pretty much peaked.  It hadn't rained much and the winds were manageable.  I was even bummed that the weather had postponed the match as it really wasn't that bad and only last fifteen minutes or so.

I got home just as Cameron did.  I tried to open the garage door and nothing happened.  At first I didn't think much about it, but soon I realized that the power was out.  I was shocked as I didn't think it was that bad out.  I then became super mad as I HATE being without power.  I called my mom to see if they had electricity, but they didn't either.  Thus, Cameron and I hung out at home for the rest of the afternoon.  He did homework and I read my book.  

Doug called after 5 to say that he was on his way home.  I was so engrossed in my book that I had actually forgotten that the power was out.  His call reminded me, however, that it had been almost an hour without electricity.  Of course, I then crabbed about it some more.  The worst part for us was that the water didn't run when the power was out as the pump needed electricity to run.  Doug listened to me for awhile and then reminded me that we needed to drop the Pilot off at Jake's Auto in Milford.  I headed out the door soon afterward to meet him.  

On the way there I realized that no one had power anywhere around us including the town of Milford.  I was really worried then as I knew that it would be a bigger job than normal to restore it to so many people.  Once we got home, Doug drove around town to see if anything was open to get dinner.  He walked in to let us know that everywhere was out when all of a sudden the power popped back on.  I was extremely thankful.  Doug started on dinner and I called my parents to see if they wanted to play "Oh Hell" tonight.  They were still without power and glad for a break from the dark.

I talked to my parents before we went to bed tonight at 10:30.  It had been six hours and their electricity was still out.  None of us were really that shocked.  It always seemed to work that way.  NIPSCO took forever to restore power and our carrier, Kosciusko REMC, solved the problem relatively quickly.  Thankfully, they did still have water as their pipes were connected to the city.  Even with that, it was still very frustrating and I felt bad that they had to endure another summer outage.  Hopefully, it will be on by the time they wake up tomorrow morning.

College Loan Forgiveness

Phil called last night to see if we were going to apply for the college loan forgiveness program that President Biden had just announced.  I told him that we definitely had been following the news and I had already signed up for email alerts from the Department of Education so that we would know when to apply.  I also explained to him how fortunate we were to actually even have been given a loan.  Until the summer of 2020 we had never qualified for any type of subsidized loan from the government.  

That changed for us after IU cancelled in person classes because of the lockdown in March of 2020.  Shortly after they had sent their college students home for the semester, we received information from Indiana University regarding the Cares Act.  IU had decided to take the money that they had received from the federal government due to the pandemic and help students who had been affected financially by the situation.  As Doug had lost 25% of his salary due to cutbacks at work, we decided to apply.  We didn't really expect anything, but since our college costs had not changed and we still had to pay rent on Cal's house all while suffering a financial loss, we thought that we would try.  Cal, Meg and I filled out the necessary paperwork explaining our situation.  We were completely surprised a few days later when we heard  that Cal would be receiving $1500 to help pay for his rent in Bloomington and a refund of $200 for his cafeteria plan.  It took longer to hear back about Meg, but in the end IU gave her a loan to take summer classes.  As she didn't really have any other plans for the summer of Covid, she decided to take advantage of the loan and get ahead on her studies.  We were very appreciative of the help and completely surprised when they offered Meg a loan to do the same thing during the summer of 2021 allowing her to stay in Bloomington and take I-Core.  By taking classes those two summers, Meg would be able to graduate a year early which was also great news and would help reduce our overall college expenses for her.

As I hung up the phone after talking to Phil, I thought a lot about his last statement,  "I don't care side of the political fence that you are on right now.  If this money is being offered, take full advantage of it."  I was happy to hear him say that as so many people on social media had been absolutely blasting the loan forgiveness announcement.  The statement, "I had to pay for my college, so should you" was everywhere.  I decided not to care about what other people thought and just be thankful for the $10,000 help.  I was sure that most people didn't realize how expensive education costs were right now.  By the time Cameron graduates from college, we will have paid over $600,000 in total for all four of the Heinisch children even with the academic scholarships that they had received. Criticizing families like us for getting back 2% of our total cost seemed very insensitive.

I also made sure when I talked to Phil to let him know that we have never regretted helping pay for our children's college costs.  We knew that we were helping them get a "best foot forward" in the game of life by doing so.  We appreciated that they worked hard in school and also had a part time jobs to help. It wasn't always easy to come up with the cash over the years, but our family made it work.  I still drive a 2006 Civic as I don't have extra money for a new car until Meg graduates.  Doug and I decided not to travel as a couple to save money, but have enjoyed the many trips with our children over the years.  I use coupons, rebates, shop at Aldi's and do everything I can to save money so that they could start life easier than Doug and I did.  He and I began with nothing as Doug had to pay for his last year of college, buy a car and even pay rent at home before we got married.  We didn't want them to feel the stress of starting life that way even if it was hard to follow such a strict budget for over ten years.  

There were many times that I wished that I had had someone in my life that could have given me financial help for our children's education expenses the way that Dorothy did for Doug's family.  I know that the six of us would have really appreciated that.  Wishing it would never make it true, however, so I will instead be happy with the knowledge that working this hard these past ten years has completely made us all appreciate the loan forgiveness program.  I definitely do not need to understand delayed gratification to know that Meg graduating debt free just like Brett and Cal did is a very nice feeling. 

One Impressive Coach

The Heinisch children have had a lot of coaches over the years.  Most have been wonderful with our children and we have appreciated all of their hard work.  As great as many of them have been, no one has stood out like Cameron's tennis coach, Matt.  He has impressed us from the early days of middle school tennis and keeps on doing so to this day.  He has been a valuable member of Cameron's life on and off of the court and we appreciate him very much.  His positive influence on his team, especially our son has never been more apparent than it has been this year and we couldn't thank him enough for all that he has done.

Going back to school without Richard was tough for Cameron.  He did everything that he could to get through the days, but it was challenging.  On one of those days, he had an intense challenge match after school.  Although he won the match, he still walked off the court in tears.  Matt talked to him afterward, listening to him talk about his grief, and understanding that all of this weighing heavily on Cameron.  He let Cameron know that tennis was a safe place for him to grieve.  He then asked the rest of the team to try and understand how Cameron felt and to respect that he was trying to live life with this weight on his shoulders, but that it was hard to do sometimes.  When Matt relayed this story to me, I wanted to cry, but instead I was just so thankful for the support he was showing Cameron and the rest of his team.

This past Thursday was extremely hard for Cameron.  He felt deflated after a tough loss and just couldn't come to grips with the reality of how hard life could be sometimes.  He called from school and asked me to come and get him even though his van was there.  My parents drove me over while I talked to him on the phone, listening to his grief.  At one point, Cameron said to me, "I've got to go" and hung up immediately.  I was pretty sure that I knew why, but not certain until we arrived.  Matt had realized that Cameron was still in the parking lot and had come over to talk with him.  They spent the next fifteen minutes discussing tennis and most of all, Richard.  I was so incredibly impressed when we pulled up and saw them sitting on the tennis bleachers.  Matt didn't have to stay.  He wanted to do so and that made all of the difference in how the rest of the night went for Cameron.

We found out last night from Cameron that the tennis line-up was being changed for the Bremen tournament today.  He would now play #1 singles and Breece would move to #1 doubles.  Cameron felt really good about it as he definitely was more comfortable as a singles player.  His confidence showed today as he played the best that he had in quite some time.  He didn't win his three matches, but he worked hard and kept the games close.  He got mad, but handled the frustration well.  In the end, he was tired, but happy to have competed as well as he had.  He was also very proud of his team for finishing runners-up in the tourney only missing a win by an 8-10 tiebreak in the third set of the last match.  

I talked to Matt today about the change in line up.  It had worked very well and it was fun to watch the boys' success.  He said that he realized that Cameron was dealing with enough right now and didn't need to worry about learning a new position as well.  I thanked him for that as well as for being there for Cameron on Thursday night.  He looked at me and said, "No problem, that's what makes us a team." I couldn't have been more impressed.  

Breaking Point

I try not to write about Cameron's feelings on the loss of Richard.  It is his grief journey and I believe that he should be the one to share it when and if he wants to one day.  It is ever present in our home, however, some days more than others.  Going back to school without his friend has been sad.  That coupled with senior year woes and learning a new position at tennis have been a lot for Cameron to digest.  There have been more tears these past few weeks than usual.  

None of this is unexpected as we knew that this would be a challenge time for Cameron.  We also realize that Cameron's grief stemming from Richard's death will most likely ebb and flow for quite some time.  I have tried to be supportive at all times and listen whenever Cameron has needed to talk.  I have enjoyed all of the fun stories that he has to share and have appreciated the mementos of his friend that he has displayed in our home.   

Last night, however, I had reached my breaking point.  I told Cameron that I just wanted to fix this grief and I couldn't.  When he went to bed, I just sat down and cried.  I had focused so hard this summer on remembering Richard's life that I had pushed his death aside as it was just too painful to think about.  Last night, I thought about all that Cameron and his friends had had to deal with these past three months.  I thought about Richard's family and how their life had forever changed one Saturday afternoon.  Mostly, I thought about Richard and the last time I saw him.  The boys were having so much fun at our house, making plans for prom and the summer.  It was almost unbearable to remember.  When Doug's plane landed and I could finally tell him how I was feeling, all I could say was "broken."  I know that tomorrow will be better, but for now it just doesn't feel like it.  

Racket Woes

Cameron called me on his way home from practice with sad news.  His beloved tennis racket had cracked at practice when he went for a low ball.  Although the crack was small, it had bent the frame making the tennis racket unusable.  Others on the team had offered theirs for him to use, but at the moment he was just too bummed to accept any help.

I shouldn't have been surprised that the racket had met its end because of its age, but I was.  I could also empathize with him.  That racket had severed our family well in its seven season of high school tennis starting with Cal's sophomore year.   Cameron had just been telling his coach about his pose for the senior banner picture.  He was proud that he was able to replicate Cal's picture complete with intense facial expression, orange racket in hand.  

Once Cameron got home we started brainstorming on what to do for a racket in the immediate future and long term.  Thankfully, Matthew Dyck was able to loan Cameron his from last year.  He picked that up on Tuesday afternoon at Goshen College.  We then looked online at buying a new racket, but Cameron didn't see anything he liked.  That's when I pulled the beloved racket out of the bag, copied the name into an Ebay search engine and like magic Cameron/Cal's racket appeared.  We looked it over and quickly decided to make an offer.  Thankfully, the seller accepted and shipped the racket today.  It won't be here for the Bremen tournament this weekend, but it should fit Cameron's needs for the rest of the season.

Cameron and I were both glad to have found a solution to his racket woes.  He was very appreciative of being able to use Matthew's racket, but serving with it at the Fremont match tonight just wasn't the same.  He did figure out how to use it by the second set, helping his doubles team win that set, but it just wasn't enough for the overall W as he and Tristan lost in the third.  That made for a long ride home from Fremont, especially since the team took the loss as well.  Hopefully, the weekend brings success or at least a lot of fun memories.  

A Future PMer

During Meg's exit meeting this summer, she got the feeling that Plante Moran might be giving her an offer to work for them next year.  Nothing specific was said, but the overall meeting was extremely positive and her future plans were discussed.  She didn't want to get her hopes up, but was definitely excited about the possibility.  She also realized that even if she didn't work for Plante next year, the experience that she gained this summer would be extremely helpful in landing a job elsewhere.

Meg spent all of last week trying not to worry about a job offer.  She knew from past conversations with others that offers would come out this week.  She hoped that she would know something by Monday, but thought that was unrealistic.  She talked about it a little bit, especially on our shopping day on Wednesday, but did realize that none of the other interns had heard anything either.  Thus, she pushed it into the back of her mind.

On Thursday of last week she went to McAllister's with Philip and Alistar for lunch.  Because she was gone all afternoon, I actually kind of forgot about Plante.  I was busy getting ready for the third tennis match of the week and trying to get the house in order.  Thus, it slipped my mind.  She called me when she left Mishawaka, but only talked about the two friends that she had just seen.  Therefore, I was absolutely shocked when she arrived at the tennis match and announced to Doug and I that she had heard from the Tax Partner at Plante Moran.  They were giving her a full time offer to start in August of 2023.  The salary was more than she had imagined and overall she was extremely happy.  Doug and I were very proud of her.  Later that night she received an email from her Principal congratulating her on becoming a future PMer.

Yesterday, Meg received her official offer letter from Plante Moran.  She sent a PDF of it to Doug and I.  We ready through it and once Doug said that it looked good, she went ahead and electronically signed it.  She was ecstatic to be done job searching so early in her senior year.  All of her hard work had paid off and now she could relax for a little bit or at least until she had to study for midterms.

Walking the Lake

Since Doug was going to be in Florida this week and Cameron had plans most nights, I decided to text Paula and Mary and see if they wanted to take a walk after school one evening.  They both texted back immediately to let me know that they were free and we picked tonight.  I was excited that I was going to be able to get together with them, but the second part of their text made me a little nervous.  They wanted to walk around Syracuse Lake.  The length of it didn't scare me, but the hills and uneven roads did.  I decided that I would give it a try as I really wanted to see my friends and I am thankful that I did.

Paula picked me up right after school and we met Mary at the community center.  We headed toward Northshore Drive and quickly realized that the road was completely ripped up.  I had heard about the road closures in that area, but didn't realize how bad it was.  The nice part was that there was very little traffic.  The down side was the lack of sidewalks available.  I was impressed with how well I did given the construction and the hills.  With all of the great conversation I hardly thought about the difficulty of the trek and just enjoyed the walk.

The path did get better after Eastshore Drive and we made the four and a half mile trip in about an hour and a half.  It was very nice to catch up on all that they had been doing at school and home.  Mary told us about Evan's new girlfriend and Paula showed us pictures of Gabrielle's new house at Butler.  They were both excited to hear about Meg's summer internship and glad that Cameron was feeling a little bit better about life.  Even though I was tired at the end, I was very happy that I took the chance on walking the lake.  

Better Call Saul

Several years ago my parents told me that they thought that I would enjoy watching "Better Call Saul."  As a huge Breaking Bad fan, I thought it was a nice suggestion, but didn't really have much interest.  Saul Goodman was a scam lawyer on the original series and I just couldn't see them making a show about the character.  They said that one of my favorites, Mike, was also in it, but I just never made the time to start the series.

This past spring Cal told me that he had started watching the Better Call Saul and recommended it as well.  He said that he also was skeptical at first, but decided to try it.  He liked it much more than he would have ever thought and told me that a few of his friends actually enjoyed it more than Breaking Bad.  He also said that there were rumors that Walt and Jesse would be on the final season.  I decided after hearing that, that I would give it a try and I am so glad that I did.

Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman, was a much more complex character than Breaking Bad portrayed him.  He had a brother that was completely unlikeable and a girlfriend that was the exact opposite.  Adding in Mike and Gus from the first series made it much more interesting than I would have dreamed.  I loved several of the other new characters as well, especially Ignacio (Nacho).  Saul seemed to always get himself into a jam and somehow find his way out of trouble, much like Walt and Jesse did.  Soon I was so hooked that I had watched more of the first five seasons than Cal had. 

Over the past couple of months, I talked about Better Call Saul so much that Doug agreed to watch the last season with me.  It started in April and concluded last Monday night.  There was a lot of action and several surprises especially in the first nine episodes.  The series didn't quite end the way that we had wanted, but we did really enjoy all of the cameos from Breaking Bad characters including Hank, Jesse and Walt.  

I realized tonight that I had spent all week thinking about Saul and Kim and how much I would miss the show.  The ending was still a hard one for me.  I believe that I would have liked it a lot better if it would have been more reminiscent of the last scene in Shawshank Redemption.  Either way, I did really enjoy the show and was glad that I gave it a chance.  

Always Missing Grandma

I thought a lot about Jeanette this weekend as it had been eight years ago this past Friday that she had died.  As I looked back on the pictures that we took with her at Greenfield Village, I really became sad.  I know that all of the Heinisch children had benefitted for having her in their life, but it just felt like too short of a time.  She was always supportive of their activities and had a smile on her face every time that she saw them.  She would listen to their stories, make crafts with them and watch their favorite movies over and over.  She asked them questions about their interests and tagged along whenever she could.  She was always the Heinisch family cheerleader.  I really miss that about her.  When Jeanette became sick and our time together grew shorter, she never let on how much she would miss everyone and never once complained to us about her health issues.  Even at the end, I loved calling her and telling her about our life.  I remember her greeting on one of our last phone calls.  I asked her how she was doing and she responded instantly with "Wonderful, now that I am talking to you."

I realize that her close relationship with her children, their spouses and her grandchildren didn't just appear at the end of her life.  She had laid the foundation for that by the way she had raised her boys.  She treated all of us with the same care, love and support that she did Doug, Dan and Phil when they were growing up.  I believe the best way to honor her legacy is to parent and grandparent the way she did.  Patient, supportive, generous, caring, and calm were just a few words to describe her way of being involved with our family.  I hope to live up to her high standards as my adult children step into their next stages of life outside of the Heinisch home.  

Bring On Senior Year!

After a week at home relaxing, visiting family and catching up with friends, Meg left this morning for her senior year of college.  She wasn't overly excited about starting classes and studying again, but she was ready to return to Bloomington and hangout with her IU friends.  She had quite a bit to take back with her as she had brought a lot home for her summer apartment in Chicago.  Thankfully, we were able to fit it all in her CR-V.  

Nick met her at her in B-town to help unload and by 5:30 they had everything back in her apartment.  They even got all of Brett's groceries to him before the end of the evening.  He thanked them with some of the homemade beer he made with Andrew.  The only bad news that she had to report was that her dresser had finally completely fallen apart.  Nick had fixed it a few times before, so we knew that it was on its last leg.  Fortunately, Amazon had one that would be perfect for her and would also work well in the future.

I posted pictures of Meg leaving today and wished her well in her last year of college.  Two things stood out from my post.  The first were all of the comments that said, "Wow, that was fast!"  The second was the memory of her leaving a year ago today with a picture of Rizzo.  Not only had Meg's college years flown by, but so had the time since we lost Rizz.  None of it made me sad, however.  I was just happy that she had had a wonderful internship and was ready to start her future.  I am hoping for a stress free senior year for her filled with a lot of fun memories with her friends.  

Neighbors

Lately, it seems that we have spent a lot of time with our neighbors.  That is very rare for me as I usually spend most of my days quietly by myself working on projects around the house.  The changed started the week that we had the garage sale.  Before then I didn't realize how social those events were for a lot of people.  I had told Roger and Darlene that we were having one so that Roger could get his stakes in the grass to prevent his yard from becoming a parking lot.  After that, they stopped by every day to check on us, to see if we needed help or to purchase a few items for their special friends.  They even brought over homemade lemonade on the hottest day.  The garage sale also brought out the neighborhood kids, some more than others.  I enjoyed getting to know all of them throughout the week. 

The next event that seemed to attract neighborhood attention was our tree removal.  The ones that we had taken out professionally didn't garnish a lot of attention, but I did have to talk to the Miller family quite a bit to coordinate the removal of a large dead branch from our oak tree hanging over their yard.  What did attract a lot of attention was Doug working to remove a pine tree out front.  It had been dying for the last two summers.  I had asked Doug to leave it as the birds liked perching in it.  I realized this summer, however, that it had become an eye soar and that we would need to take it out before we sold our house.  The fall was the best time to accomplish this task as it would give Doug time to plant grass once it was gone, so he started on it last Sunday.

As soon as Josh saw Doug out with his chainsaw taking off branches, he rushed right over to see if he needed help.  He had just bought a new gas powered tree trimer and it quickly took out all of the branches.  Josh then grabbed his chainsaw and within seconds the tree was down.  He asked Doug if he wanted to keep the stump or have it taken out.  Once he heard Doug say that he had planned to have it removed, he ran over to his neighbor and asked him to help.  The diesel truck and tow line soon left us with an empty place in our yard, which we really appreciated.  We were also glad that there were no injuries, although we did think that we had seen the last of Josh's wedding ring.  It got caught on a stump as the guys were stacking the branches in the lot and flew into the middle of the pile.  It took about 45 minutes with all of us looking before it was finally found.  That was a relief.

Our last big events with the neighbors occurred this week.  During the garage sale week, Doug had asked Roger and Darlene if they wanted to go out to Sleepy Owl with us one Wednesday for half price pizza night.  They agreed instantly and asked if we could wait until "Sis" got home from Chicago.  Meg was more than interested in going.  Thus, this week we enjoyed a nice dinner and some great conversation.  

Last night while Doug was out burning the pine tree, both Josh and Kyle walked over separately to see what he was doing.  They also wanted to let us know that they had played golf with Grandpa Cutes today and had a fantastic time with him.  I knew that Grandpa had enjoyed it too as he had sent a picture of them to us earlier in the day.  Once they left I realized that was probably the end of our interaction with the neighbors for awhile as I know that we will keep getting busier and busier with tennis and the start of football season.  It has been fun talking with everyone and having my own little fan club when I go out to water my flowers hearing the little girls yell, "Hi, Mrs. Heinisch!"  It definitely made the end of summer a little more enjoyable than usual.

One Tough Schedule

Cameron was back on the court tonight, this time at Goshen.  It was by far the toughest match of the week as the Goshen #1 doubles were really good.  Cameron and Tristan said afterward that they just couldn't get the ball past their beset net player.  He was at least five inches taller than they were and put the ball away easily.  The boys didn't win a game in the first set, but did finish 3-6 in the second which we thought was a victory in itself.  It was definitely a humbling experience, but one they shared with their teammates.  Each of the five varsity courts lost in two sets as well.  Afterward Cameron hung out with his friends at the volleyball match and at Culver's.  He felt a lot better about tennis once he got home from that.

While Cameron was busy on the tennis courts, Meg made the most of her day hanging out with friends.  She first met Philip and Alistar for lunch.  She spent four hours talking about their summers and what everyone thought about their internships.  She told us that Alistar was actually working in DC for Jackie Walorski when she was killed in a car accident a few weeks ago.   That was sad to hear.  Even with that news, Meg said that she enjoyed her afternoon very much and the irony of eating lunch with Alistar at Mc"Allister's."  She did have time to stop by tennis before heading to Gabrielle's for the night.  They had made plans to eat dinner together and watch Avatar.  Meg liked the movie a lot more than she thought that she would and was glad to finally see the inspiration behind the Animal Kingdom ride "Flight of Passage."

Our night was pretty quiet after tennis.  I was tired enough to talk about going to bed at 7:30.  Thankfully, Cal called to check in with Doug and I which woke me up.  It was nice to talk with him about his weekend in St. Louis, his thoughts on the Better Call Saul finale and work.  I was bummed to hear that he had been having issues with migraines.  Hopefully, those will get better.  

While Cal was on the phone, Brett called.  We were able to get ahold of him later in the evening.  He was excited about his couple of weeks at work.  Tomorrow, he will bring in his biggest commission check yet to date.  He was also pleased with the additional members that joined his Bible study this week and an upcoming game night that they had planned at his place.  It was nice catching up with him and being a small part of all of the Heinisch children's day today.  

Shopping

Meg and I spent the day back to school shopping.  We started at the UP mall visiting Barnes & Noble, JC Penney, Box Lunch and Yankee Candle.  From there we we went to Marshall's, Target, TJ Maxx, Shoe Carnival and Kohl's.  We didn't buy as much as in years past, but we got a few items that we really needed and a couple just for fun.  My favorite purchase of the day was a set of Disney Villain glasses.  Meg was thrilled with the set that she bought - Charlie Brown Halloween.  I also found a white jean jacket and Teva sandals, while Meg bought a new pair of jeans, boots, a Peanuts blanket and a book that she had been wanting to read.  

We did take a break from shopping to eat lunch at McAllister's.  The food was very good, but the best part was the company.  I enjoyed listening about Meg's summer.  On the way home Meg and I decided that we would keep our annual shopping trip alive next year even after we moved.  As much as we liked shopping in South Bend, we knew that it would be even better at the Paddock Mall in Ocala.  

Another Day, Another Match

Tonight was the first home match for the tennis team.  It was a little more difficult than last night's as the boys had to play Northridge.  Cameron and Tristan played well together again.  When he left this morning, we weren't sure that they would be able to win more than one or two games each set.  They did much better than that, winning six games total and keeping the Northridge #1 doubles team on the court longer than any of their teammates.

Although none of the five Bethany courts were victorious tonight, they did have a big win in number of fans watching.  The athletic director even joked that he should have sold concessions as tennis had drawn a bigger crowd than some of the other sports.  We were happy to see so many people supporting the boys and were extremely thankful that Meg and her friend, Philip joined us in Cameron's cheering section.  They made the match a lot more fun and we enjoyed catching up on Philip's internship in South Africa this summer.  Philip had played tennis in high school for Bethany and claimed to be their number 1 fan as he still read Matt's blog after each match.  Overall, it was a fun home match even though the boys lost.  

Tennis Win

Tonight marked the first Bethany high school tennis match of the season.  The boys played at Jimtown and were excited about their chances.  They had lost 2-3 last year and were hoping that the time and effort they had put into their skills this summer would pay off.  The Bruins returned four of their players from last season, but their line up looked a little different as Breece played the #1 singles court and Cameron switched to #1 doubles.  Both seemed happy with the change.  

Cameron was excited to try doubles and glad to be partnered with Tristan.  We were impressed with how well they played together since Cameron had not played competitive doubles since middle school and it was Tristan's first varsity match ever.  They kept the score close, communicated well and supported each other on every point.  It was a lot of fun to watch them play.  They didn't win the match, but were the last team off of the court losing 4-6, 6-7 in a second set tie break.  Even with the loss, everyone was happy with the night as #2 singles, #3 singles and #2 doubles had all won giving the Bruins their first victory of the season.  

Zoo Trip

Every year for as long as I can remember, Cameron, Meg and I have taken a trip to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo.  Even during Covid, we made sure to carry on the Heinisch tradition.  Although it had only been the three of us previously, we added Doug to our annual trip last year.  Normally, we had gone on a week day which prevented him from going.  Meg had I-Core in Bloomington during the summer of 2021, however, so she was only available on the weekends.  We were glad to add Doug, especially since he was paying for it all.  

A couple of weeks ago, Meg and I realized that we hadn't taken our zoo trip this year.  With Cameron 's golf schedule in May and June, and the events surrounding Richard's death, we just hadn't been able to find a day that worked for everyone before she left for her internship.  We knew that our annual trip would have to end sometime, but didn't want it to be this year if possible.  Thankfully, all of us were available today and we left this morning on our journey.

The weather had been cooler and more overcast than it had been over the past few days, which really helped with the crowds.  Last year, we couldn't even ride the log flume in Australia due to the long line, but this summer we walked right on to it.  The weather didn't affect how many animals we saw either, as most were up and moving or at least in plain view.  We thoroughly enjoyed our two hour tour of the zoo.  Cameron and Meg also made time for a soft pretzel and a trip on the sky ride.  We ended our afternoon together with a late lunch at Portillo's.  We had a lot of fun and hopefully will be able to take one more trip next year.  

Internship Success

Following a successful summer internship at Plante Moran in Chicago, Meg arrived home at 1 p.m. this afternoon thankful for a week long break before her senior year started.  Doug and I both enjoyed listening to all of her stories of the experience.  She had learned a lot as a tax accountant intern and had received praise from all of those that she worked for during the summer.  She definitely would be interested in an offer if they were to give her one.  

Meg didn't just enjoy working this summer, she also like the networking opportunities that her internship provided her.  She met quite a few of the interns, took advantages of the activities provided for their group and even planned a few events outside of work.  Meg was ready to come home today, but not happy to leave the social life she had created in Chicago.  

Although we weren't quite as exciting as the Windy City, Meg did have fun hanging out with us tonight.  Doug made dinner and we had a bonfire.  Once it started raining, we moved inside and listened to music, debating the best dance songs of our generation versus hers.  Nick joined us for the night.  He wasn't as interested in the music debate, but did have fun trying rum and root beer while showing off his pirate imitations.  It was great having her back home for awhile.  

One Exhausting Week

This week was absolutely exhausting.  With our main focus on the garage sale, Cameron starting school and tennis, I hadn't had much time to clean the house.  It took me all week to get it all back in order.  I wanted to finish it all before Doug arrived home today from his week in Florida.  I wasn't quite done when he arrived, but by the time he finished his 2 p.m. phone call, I was ready to relax and enjoy the weekend.

The first item on my agenda tonight was showing him the tree stumps left by Hoosier tree yesterday.  After the storms in June, we decided that we wanted to cut down two of the tallest ones in our backyard before they came down on their own.  One, especially, looked as though it would take out part of the living room if it fell.  I had been very worried about it recently and from the looks of the stump, my feelings were warranted.  The inside was hollow, so it definitely wouldn't have lasted much longer.

After our tour of the backyard, Doug and I headed to Goshen.  We had just enough time to enjoy a beer at the Goshen Brewing Company before the senior parent meeting at Bethany.  It was nice to catch up with him in a relaxing atmosphere.  The weather was beautiful as well.  The meeting was very informative as we found out Bethany's plan for helping students with college applications and with job shadowing.  It was also sad as reminders of Richard's loss were felt throughout the night.  Cameron stayed for the Back to School night, while Doug and I enjoyed a quiet night by the bonfire pit.  It was a nice start to the weekend.