Fun, then None

After IU's victory over Purdue in men's basketball on Saturday, we were all hyped up about tonight's game against Iowa.  For some in our family, the Hawkeyes were a bigger nemesis than the Boilermakers.  We had blown a big lead against them in Iowa City early in the season.  A win tonight would avenge that loss.  It would also put us in great position in the NCAA tournament and give us the double bye in the Big Ten Tourney next weekend.  

Cameron invited Samuel over to watch the game.  Doug came home early from work tonight so that we could take a walk before tip off.  Once we got back, he ordered pizza for the guys and picked it up well before the game started.  Within two minutes of the game starting, the excitement was gone in the Heinisch home.  IU looked absolutely awful and Iowa couldn't miss.  Even Brett texted the family group chat to let us know that the Hoosiers "were blowing it tonight."  

Before halftime, Cameron and Samuel had moved downstairs to play pool.  They ended up turning off the television with three minutes to go in the game.  Doug watched all of it, but the loss sure changed the mood of the night.  We were expecting a heated battle and instead got a big bunch of nothing.  Gone was the excitement of this afternoon when Cameron and I were talking about the Hoosiers making a run for the tournament or the possibility of a change in our spring break plans to include a trip to Houston for the final four.  I actually ended up working on the computer all night, catching up on my Blog and filling out paperwork for the realtor.  I hope that we can rebound form this loss, but after this evening none of us are really sure anymore.  Guess we'll have to lower our expectations for now.

Realtor Meeting

Today Doug and I met with a realtor about selling our house in Syracuse.  We picked her after a lot of research.  I had made a spreadsheet of all of the homes that had sold in our area in the past year.  I listed their address, price sold and realtor.  One name stood out, Angie Racolta, from Keller Williams Thrive.  She was local and we both liked the fact that we did not know her personally.  That may sound strange, but living in a small town, we knew a lot of realtors.  We thought it was best to chose one that we had not had a previous relationship with as it might complicate the selling process.

Doug and I spent all of yesterday getting the house ready for her visit.  I also thoroughly cleaned the kitchen today.  We her and her assistant at 4 p.m. this afternoon for a tour of our home and to talk about the selling process.  They were both impressed with the size of the house and felt that the location was highly sought after in our town.  We talked about the listing process, what we would need to do to get ready, and the price of the home.  They valued the house close to what we thought it would be worth.  We were surprised to hear that the lot that we so incredibly loved really wasn't worth anything near what we thought that it would be.  I couldn't imagine living here without that lot in our backyard.  It provided a buffer from our neighbors and a lot of entertainment for our children over the years.  They left a lot of information for us to look over.  Even though we did not plan on listing our home until after Cameron's graduation, we told them that we would be in touch soon.  

After they left, Doug and I talked a lot about selling the house.  It has been a wonderful home to our family, but it was time to let it go.  With just Doug and I living in it next year, it would be way too big.  None of our children want to live in Syracuse and we are ready to move on as well.  Neither of us are looking forward to the getting the house ready to sell and then keeping it clean once it was listed, but it is a necessary evil if we are to move.  Thankfully, we believe that we have found an organized, professional realtor that has a sense of urgency to get our home sold.  

University of Florida Decision

When Cameron and I visited the University of Florida in November of 2021, we were really impressed with the school and its academic rigor.  Cameron felt very comfortable there and was impressed with the fact that the students that we met were a lot like him.  When we came home, it was top on his list.  

As much as we liked the university, we were also very realistic about his chances of getting into Florida.  The head of admissions was intense and she made it very clear that AP and Dual Credit classes were absolutely necessary to be admitted into the school.  At Bethany, most of those classes were taken during the students' senior year.  Cameron and I were both concerned that even with his 4.0 grade point average, it wouldn't be enough since he would have only taken AP English by the time he applied last fall.  We also came to realized that as an out of state student, Cameron would also only have a 22% chance of being accepted.  Those facts along with Cameron's interest in business as a major, made him sway from Florida as his top choice and move towards IU.  The familiarity of Bloomington also added to IU's favor.

Thus, when Cameron texted me Friday to see if we had heard anything from Florida yet, I was a little apprehensive to answer.  He hadn't gotten an email from the university, but I knew that he could check his admissions portal today as decisions were due on the 24th.  I didn't want him to get bad news while he was in Indy for the girls' tournament.  In the end, my fears were all for nothing.  Cameron texted me once again with the words "I GOT ACCEPTED!"  I was so absolutely impressed and incredibly proud of him.

Cameron, Doug and I sat down today and talked more about Cameron's college decision.  He had no desire to go to Purdue, so that was instantly out of the question.  Wisconsin and Michigan were too expensive and were taking too long to render a decision, so they also were off the table.  Instead the three of us focused solely on the pros and cons of Indiana vs Florida.  The first one having the strongest business school and the second being overall ranked quite a bit higher #5 out of all public colleges compared to IU's 72nd ranking.  Familiarity went to IU without question, but locality to Doug and I went to Florida as Gainesville was only 40 minutes away from Ocala.  Overall, it was a great discussion.  Cameron listened to what we had to say, added insight on his own and ended with he'd "think it over."  The nice part for Doug and I was that we knew that whichever he chose, both would provide him with a wonderful education.  

State Championship Run

Although the end of the Bethany girls' basketball state tournament run did not end with a championship, it sure was a fun ride for all involved.  In our family that was especially true for Cameron.  He was a part of their sectional, regional and semi-state celebrations.  He was invited to go to Indy with the team on Friday where he got to take a three point shot on the floor of Gainsebridge Fieldhouse and hung out in the locker room that Joel Embiid had been in a few days before him.  He was a part of their team meal at the Old Spaghetti Factory Friday night and had a floor access pass to sit on the bench, keeping stats for the girls, on game day.  He was featured on the Jumbotron several times throughout the 1A championship game and even stayed with the team to watch the Fairfield girls in their own state basketball championship game Saturday evening.  

Doug and I both enjoyed going to the girl's tournament games this season as did my parents.  None of us were able to attend all of them, but thankfully several were available on television as well.  Meg and Nick joined the four of us at the state finals which was a nice treat.  They enjoyed the atmosphere and even ate lunch at Shake Shack after Bethany's state runner-up game with Cameron and Keagan.  Overall, the season was a lot of fun and a great break to the winter blues that February usually brings.  

Cal Visits

Cal told us early in the month that he thought about visiting some time this week.  We were glad to hear that, but realized that his plans could change due to his work schedule.  Thankfully, he did not have anything come up and arrived Wednesday night with plans to stay until Saturday.  He had to work from home yesterday and today, but I still enjoyed having him here very much.  I ate lunch with him, helped him get his taxes done and even took him to get an oil change when he was on break.  

Doug appreciated having Cal here in the evenings as well.  He ordered pizza from Sleepy Owl one of the nights and made macaroni and cheese another.  We watched several movies, including Whiplash, which Cal had been wanting to see.  Tonight, Grandma and Grandpa arrived to play cards.  We reacquainted Cal with "Oh Hell!" and then played "31."  Cal beat us at both, but none of us cared.  We were just glad to spend some quality time with him.  He will leave tomorrow morning while we are in Indy for the girls' state basketball championship.  I will miss having him around, but am sure that I will see him soon.

Four Years Later - Still Hard to Believe

The memories that showed up on my Facebook feed this week have been especially sad this year.  Four years ago Meg's friend and classmate, KeShawn, was killed in a car accident.  It was absolutely unbelievable then and feels like a dream even now.  His smile was infectious and looking at his picture reminded me of that.  He loved life and was looking forward to his future outside of high school.

As Meg makes her plans for life after graduation from IU, I am reminded that not all children get to live out their dreams.  It makes me appreciate even more that Meg has been able to set goals, reach them and plan celebrations around the next phase of her life. The photos this week were also a good reminder that the future is never guaranteed.  As our family gets ready for some big changes, I will have to take time to enjoy the small moments even when everything seems stressful.  That will be the best way that I know how to honor the high school boy that I can still hear calling, "Mama Heidi," at Meg's basketball games.  

T-Shirt Blanket Success

When Brett graduated from high school, Jeanette made him a t-shirt quilt as a graduation gift.  It was very nice with quilt blocks representing Brett's life from age two to eighteen.  There was binding all around it and a note stitched on the back, reading, "Made with love by Jeanette Heinisch."  We found a prominent spot to hang it up for his open house and Brett's had it on the end of his bed ever since 2013.  

As Jeanette realized that she probably wouldn't be able to make a t-shirt quilt for the rest of her grandchildren in our family, she asked me to make one for Cal, Meg and Cameron.  I told her that I thought it was outside of my capabilities, but that I would think about it.  When Cal graduated in 2016, I went through all of his memory tubs, saw the t-shirts that we had saved and decide not to attempt a quilt.  I was still working at Milford and I knew that just getting ready for his graduation open house would be enough for me.  Cal didn't seem to mind and enjoyed his party just the same.

I wasn't working when Meg graduated in 2019, but I still was overwhelmed thinking about making a t-shirt quilt for her.  It seemed way beyond my expertise and with Brett graduating with his MPA from IU and Cameron celebrating his confirmation, I knew that I would not have time.  Instead I focused on the photo poster frames like the ones that I did for Cal.  She had a successful open house just like her older two brothers that Meg and I were both proud of hosting.  

This January I started going through all of Cameron's memory tubs to begin the process of getting ready for his graduation open house.  I found a lot of great items in those tubs, but what struck me most of all was all of the clothes that I had saved from his childhood.  As he and I sorted through them, I asked him what he thought about a t-shirt quilt.  He said that he would definitely like one, but if it was too much work or too expensive, he was ok forgoing the traditional graduation gift.  I told him that I would look into it and let him know.

My research led me to a website that constantly appeared in my FaceBook feed.  They made nice t-shirt quilts that were a little bit different than Brett's, but were very nice.  I inquired about a price.  It would be close to $150 and we would have to ship them our shirts.  The price wasn't too bad, but I was afraid of the shirts getting lost or the quilt not arriving on time.  Valerie gave me the phone number of a woman who made quilts for her three children.  I really liked the design of Jacob's as it was a lot like Brett's and the fact that this woman was local was a positive.  The cost was the deterrent, however, as it was about half the price of a laptop.  I couldn't really justify that. 

Cameron and I talked and we decided that we had two options - no quilt or I try to make one myself.  He was for the latter.  I asked Doug and Meg what they thought and they agreed with Cameron.  I started doing some research on how to make one and found a lot of help on YouTube.  They showed me the tools that I would need and how many t-shirts that we have to use.  There was a lot of great advice and even one that showed me how to make a no-sew one.  In the end, I liked a video from the YouTube site - Drink and Sew Things.  The woman was a little nutty, but her video on how to make a t-shirt blanket for beginners was easy to follow.  

Two weeks ago, while Doug was in Florida, I decided to try making Cameron's blanket.  I was extremely nervous when I cut that first shirt, but after doing several of them, I developed a routine and soon had twenty shirts cut into 12" by 12" blocks.  Sewing the shirts together to make a row was actually easier than I thought that it would be.  Ironing was tricky as I couldn't put anything hot near the screen printing or it would melt.  The seams were also hard to press open as they were incredibly small.  I figured it out however, and after a few days, I had five rows to show Cameron.  

After laying it all out, both he and I thought that it would look a lot better with one more row.  I searched through everything that he had and found some more shirts for him to pick from in the memory tubs.  Four more were sewed together and soon the six rows were one long piece.  Cameron picked blue for the backside of the blanket and I found a great piece of fleece at Walmart that fit perfectly.  I was super nervous about sewing the back on as it seemed a little daunting.  It took me an hour and a half to pin the two together and an hour to sew it.  In the end both Cameron and I were thrilled with the outcome.  It represented Cameron's childhood well, was brightly colored and only cost $65 total.  The nice part was that the quilting tools that I bought for $50 could be used to make a blanket for Cal and Meg.  Thus, Cameron's t-shirt blanket really only cost $15 and would make a nice wall hanging at his open house.  I told Cameron before I started that it may not be perfect, but the blanket would be made with love.  It definitely was and I couldn't be more proud of my newfound skill.

 

Fasting and the Lenten Promise

The topic that seems to be on most priests' minds this winter has been fasting.  Explanations of why it is important to the body and the soul have been given multiple times.  As we approach Ash Wednesday the subject matter has increased.  Brett and Nick went to Theology on Tap tonight at Bub's and it was the main focus of the speaker.   Father Andrew also discussed the importance of fasting, especially in a country as rich as ours.  Meg's Bible study group did as well.

All of the talk about fasting and Lenten promises has led to some great discussions inside the Heinisch family.  Brett thoughts surrounding the topic led him to wanting more history behind the idea of fasting.  Cal was more interested in his Lenten promise this year.  He and his friends each decided to give up something and the one who stopped following it first had to attend 8 a.m. mass for six Sundays in a row.  Cal vowed to give up meat and eating out until Easter.  Meg wasn't as big on fasting as she felt that it wasn't possible for everyone.  I agreed with her on that one.  She instead talked about forgoing social media for Lent.  Cameron shared what he had learned in his Faith Journey class at Bethany about suffering.  From the discussions, he decided that he believed that giving up something or fasting made you closer to God as each time you thought about your promise or what you were giving up, you were thinking about Him.  Doug felt that neither a promise nor fasting were important to bringing one closer to God.  He believed that living life in moderation was the best way to do so.  I appreciated everyone's thoughts on Ash Wednesday and the upcoming Lenten season.  It made me feel really good about my decision to catch up on all of the Bible in a Year podcasts and follow it through with it until the end of the year.  

Brokenness

I am so thankful that Meg suggested that I listed to the Bible in a Year podcast.  It has been extremely interesting and I have been amazed at how relevant the topics are even though they occurred thousands of years ago.  The one subject that Father Mike Schmitz has focused on in every podcast that I have listened to so far is "brokenness" of the family.  I had never really heard the word before, but as he talked of the struggles in the families of the Bible, it fit perfectly.  There were so many things that caused brokenness in the Bible that were still creating issues for families today.  Incest, death, murder, greed, hunger were just a few that had been mentioned so far.  I found it interesting that the four women in the lineage of Jesus had all endured brokenness in their lives as well.  

Losing my brother definitely changed my family forever.  Brokenness seemed to be a good word for that, especially in the first decade after his death.  Brokenness was also the perfect way to describe the Heinisch family after the death of Jeanette.  One topic that I haven't heard so far in the Bible in a Year podcast that has caused brokenness for so many families in the world is abuse.  It can come in so many forms and can be absolutely devastating.  I had been thinking about that issue a lot over the past year.  Although physical and sexual abuse were some of the worst causes of brokenness, verbal and emotional abuse could also destroy a family.  Yelling and screaming at someone no matter their age is always hurtful.  Calling them names or saying mean things to them in anger could change a family forever.  Just like physically striking someone, words can knock a person to the ground.  Unfortunately, they can't be taken back.  As a parent, you should never say something in anger no matter how old your child is.  Those words will sting for a lifetime, especially if you try to justify yourself by blaming the child for your actions.  Even if your child is an adult, choosing your words carefully during a disagreement or time of stress is the easiest way to stop brokenness from taking over your family life.  

Marriage - The Biggest Influence on Your Life

Although the ten days that Doug had been in Florida had gone by fast since Cameron and I had both been very busy,  it was so nice to have him home today.  He caught up on some work, helped with several projects around the house, went on a walk with me and even took me out to dinner tonight.  We also made some time to sit down and talk about some serious issues that had arisen while he was gone.  We came up with a plan on how to handle two very difficult situations which made me feel a lot better about our long term future goals.

At the end of  today I thought a lot about what Father Mike Schmitz had said about marriage yesterday on his podcast "The Catholic Bible in a Year."  He stated that nothing affects your life more (either positively or negatively) than who you chose to marry.  I had never really thought about that before, but he was exactly right.  Your spouse is not only the most important part of your life, but also the most influential.  

I feel extremely fortunate to have a marriage that would fall into the positive category.  It didn't happen by accident, it took a lot of work.  When Doug and I first married, I felt that our partnership was lopsided - he was the positive and I was the negative.  At that time period, I truly believed that because his family had more money than mine and because he had a stronger dedication to his faith than I did, that I was the lesser person in the marriage.  My insecurities were increased by several things that were said to me by one of his family members early in our relationship.  My commitment to Doug was questioned by this person as was my motive for marrying him.  My parenting skills were criticized as was my weight gain after having children.  Even our decision for me to be a stay at home mom was under scrutiny along with our move to Syracuse.  It didn't help that these issues were for the most part said only to me.  I took all of it to heart, feeling like a terrible person and a horrible match for Doug.  

As we close in on our thirtieth year of marriage, I am happy to say that I no longer see things as I did in the first decade after our nuptials.  I realize that I am also a positive part of Doug and my relationship.  My role has never really changed in our marriage, but I have grown in it.  Supporting Doug and the Heinisch children, while managing the our household has been the mainstay of my life.  My focus has changed depending on what everyone needs, but overall I have felt very good about the help that I have been able to give my family.  Even with three of the children "grown and flown", I have been more involved these past two years in our families' lives than at almost any other time in my life.  Doug's work involvement, travel schedule and health issues have left him with little time for anything else.  Thus, I have had to pick up a lot more of the day to day household duties including getting the house ready to sell and preparing for graduation.  I have also had to spend quite a bit of time diligently budgeting as our income has not increased, but our expenses have due to inflation.  I am proud of the money that I have saved our family this year learning how to do DIY projects myself.  Most importantly, I also dedicated myself to helping Cameron through a very traumatic incident, one that has had a long lasting effect on him.  This past year has taught me that life is hard.  Having a positive marriage relationship has made a difference in how we have been able to handle adversity this year.  I am very thankful for that.  

Semi-State Champions

When we found out that the Bethany girls basketball team would be playing in the semi-state tournament today, we were excited for them, but also a little worried about how we were going to get Cameron to the game.  We had signed up for IU's Red Carpet Day several weeks ago and most sessions were already full.  With senior trip occurring the first week of March and golf season starting immediately afterward, we knew that trying to find another date would be almost impossible. 

Once we saw the pairings draw last weekend, our concerns subsided.  The Bruins were playing at Frankfort, Indiana which was two hours from Bethany, but only an hour and forty minutes from Bloomington.  We knew that we could easily get Cameron to the game at Case Arena as it was only ten minutes out of our normal drive home from Bloomington to Syracuse.  Since Cameron wasn't really sure what he would do in between the games if the girls won, Doug and I decided to make a day of it watching the morning session and staying for the night game if Bethany was in it.  

We arrived in Frankfort at 11 a.m. this morning.  The assistant coach had texted Cameron to tell him what door to get in and where to meet the team.  I really appreciated that as we weren't quite sure what he should do.  Doug and I went in as soon as the first game was over.  Cameron let us know later that Tri had won by almost 30 points.  We were surprised that it was that lopsided in a final eight  game.  

Bethany played Washington Township and started off strong.  Washington Township led most of the second quarter, however, and we felt fortunate to be down only by seven at half.  The game was intense in the second half as well.  Thankfully, the refs started calling fouls on their aggressive play.  We were happy to see that as we had been hit hard in the first half.  Bethany was in the bonus before the fourth quarter began.  Even so, the game remained close up until the end with the Bruins winning by five.  

We found Cameron after the game.  He was pretty hyped up about the win.  We had roughly six hours until the championship, so we let him pick how we spent that time.  He wanted to go to Greenwood to catch up with Alina.  She had participated in the ISMAA vocal music contest in the morning and was shopping at the mall.  Her family planned on staying for the game as well, so it worked out well for Cameron to hang out with them for the afternoon.  The three of us stopped for lunch at Big Woods in Speedway first, enjoying a delicious meal together.  While Cameron was busy with Alina's family and friends, Doug and I did a little bit of shopping.  I stopped in at Yankee Candle first and then we both found something at Kohl's to take home.  We had just enough time to stop at Target before picking Cameron up at Barnes & Noble for our return trip to Frankfort.

I was surprised at how many cars were at Case Arena when we arrived at 7:20.  Doug and I headed in early to secure a seat at the top of the bleachers.   Quickly after tip off, it looked as though Tri was going to run away with the game.  They were instantly up 6-0 and we weren't sure that we had an answer for the height of their best player.  Bethany kept it close, however, and were only down by one at half.  Tri looked strong again to start the second half, but Bethany hung tough.  Their best player got into foul trouble and had to sit out for part of the fourth quarter.  The Bruins took advantage driving down the lane almost every play until she returned, outscoring Tri 8-2.  The game was one of the most intense that I have seen in person.  Bethany hit some key threes.  They answered with twos inside the paint and had to foul to catch up.  That put our point guard on the spot, but she answered the call, hitting six straight free throws clinching the win for Bethany 54-50.  It was so much fun to watch.  It was Bethany's first ever Semi-State Championship and everyone joined in celebration on the court afterward.  Cameron got to cut down the net once again, and Doug and I enjoyed listening to he and Keagan talk about the game all the way back to Syracuse.  It was a late night for all of us, but well worth the trip.  

Red Carpet Day at Indiana University

 Doug, Cameron and I attended IU’s Red Carpet Day for admitted students.  Cameron really enjoyed it and felt that he gained a lot of information through the day long program.  We started our morning at the Whittenberger Auditorium at the Indiana Memorial Union where we had a continental breakfast, Cameron picked up a free t-shirt and we had a family picture taken before heading into the morning session.

During the first session we were introduced to several student ambassadors that talked about their experiences at IU and how they came to chose Indiana over other colleges.  The assistant dean from admissions also talked and we found out that there were twenty-six states represented at today’s event.  Doug thought it was funny that no one really clapped when she mentioned Kentucky as one of them.

After the first session, we split into small groups and participated in a walking tour of campus.  It was informative, but unfortunately, it was also the coldest day of February this year.  We made it through, however, and Cameron really enjoyed it.  We ended the morning listening to a panel of IU students, someone from the Office of First Year Experience, the head of resident housing and a professor all talk about life on campus.

Lunch was on our own and Cameron picked Mother Bears for our meal.  IU had given us a coupon for a free order of breadsticks which was a nice benefit of eating there as well.  We had just enough time to stop in the bookstore before our meeting at the Hilton Honors College.  It ended up being Cameron’s favorite session of the day.  They gave us a lot of information and seemed to be great student advocates.  Cameron was very excited about being a part of their program

The last session was by far the weakest.  We sat in on an introduction to the Kelley School of Business.  It had the least information and the tour was very lame.  Thankfully, we already knew a lot about the school, so it didn’t change our mind about Cameron being a part of it.

As soon as we were done, we picked up Meg and Nick to go shopping at Tracks.  Both Meg and Cameron had vinyls that they wanted to purchase.  Cameron also wanted to look around the Indiana Shop.  Everyone was pleased with their purchases.  We then played games at Meg’s for an hour or so before heading back to Brett’s.  They wanted to go out for dinner to celebrate a belated Valentine’s Day and Cameron had homework to do.  

Doug picked up dinner for us  - breadsticks for he and Brett and McAlister’s for Cameron and I.  Brett arrived shortly after 8 p.m., ate dinner and was ready for a haircut.  I hadn’t cut it in six weeks, so it was definitely long.  Afterward we had just enough time to play one more game of Ticket to Ride Germany before Meg and Nick arrived.  We then all had a lot of fun playing Snakes and Loud Librarian.  It was the perfect end to a wonderful (yet exhausting) day in Bloomington.

Celebrating Brett's Birthday

I still didn't feel the greatest today, but thankfully I was able to make it to Bethany Christian at 11:30 a.m. to pick up Cameron for our road trip to Bloomington.  We had three items on our agenda - 1) See Doug after ten days of him working in Florida 2) Celebrate Brett's Birthday and Valentine's Day with him, Meg and Nick 3) Attend IU's Red Carpet Day for admitted students.  We were both looking forward to it and and I was glad that I didn't have to cancel.  Grandma Jane road along to take the van back home.  I really appreciated that as it got us on the road thirty minutes quicker.

Cameron was ready to leave as soon as we arrived.  It rained the entire drive, but overall it wasn't too bad.  Doug was just finishing up working when we arrived.  He was definitely happy to see us.  Brett walked in shortly after we did.  He had switched his hours so that he could get off work earlier today.  We decided to give him his gifts before we did anything else.  Cameron was proud of the sign that he had picked out for Brett and couldn't wait for his reaction.  Brett didn't disappoint as he started singing the jingle as soon as he saw it.  Brett also appreciated the wine, Oogie Boogie Shirt and Small World game that he got from Doug, "Tim Burton" and I.  

Once the gifts were opened and enjoyed, we had just enough time to play Ticket to Ride Germany before picking up Meg and Nick for dinner.  Brett chose Big Woods for his birthday meal, but the wait was over an hour.  Buffalouie's was next on the list, but with trivia night in full swing, there were no seats available.  Brett decided that Nick's would work very well as he hadn't eaten at the IU restaurant in quite some time.  Thankfully, they had plenty of room and we were seated immediately.  As an added bonus, the food was delicious and the the waiter was awesome.  The Nick in our party even walked out with his very own "Nick's" shirt.

The rest of the night was spent at Brett's.  Cameron opened his birthday gift from Meg adding two more American Eagle shirts to his collection and his very first Squishmallow.  Nick gave him a football from the Super Bowl and then gave Doug a Chiefs Super Bowl glass from his recent trip to Arizona during the football championship game.  Nick also had a present for Brett's birthday - "Loud Librarians" that we couldn't wait to try out after first playing Cameron's new game - Snakes.  It was a wonderful evening and the perfect way to celebrate Brett's 28th birthday.

What a Migraine

I spent most of my day cleaning, packing and working on Cameron's t-shirt blanket.  At 5:30 p.m. my household projects came to a grinding halt.  My vision became blurred and I realized that I was starting to get a migraine.  I was completely surprised as I hadn't had a migraine in quite some time.  I hurried and took some Tylenol hoping that the medication would keep it from developing.  Unfortunately, no such luck.  I spent the rest of the evening fighting off what ended up being one of the worst migraines that I had had in years.

With the lights out, ice on my neck and toast for dinner, I was still able to hang out with Cameron for the rest of the evening as he finished homework and listened to his newest Eminem vinyl.  He asked me how I could have the music on if I couldn't even talk on the phone.  I told him that one vibrated in my ear and the other was really just background noise.  His next question, "Why do you think that you have this bad of a migraine?", wasn't as easy to answer.

I thought a lot about Cameron's question over the next few hours.  I told him that it definitely could have been that I waited too long to eat.  I had been strictly following Weight Watchers while Doug was gone and hadn't used any of my extra weekly points.  That meant that I was eating around 1200 calories a day for the past week and a half.  That, along with all of the exercising and work around the house had probably taken a toll on me.

I also thought that the issue could have been the stress that Doug was under last weekend.  It was hard to be separated from him for that long of a period of time knowing that he had had an intense week at work as well as a difficult situation with a family member.  Neither would be easily resolved and I knew that it weighed heavily on my mind.  Doug and I had talked a lot about both issues and the circumstances surrounding them.  I told him that I would definitely support Doug if he chose to walk away from both of these situations.  With the health issues that he had been having over the past year, I didn't feel that he needed to add any more stress to his life. He was thankful for the support, but decided for the time being to keep working on both problems.  

After explaining this to Cameron, he encouraged me to only focus on the issues in the immediate future and not those that I couldn't control or that would take care of themselves with time.  It was good advice that sounded a lot like something that Doug would encourage me to do as well.  Although, it didn't immediately solve my headache issues, I did feel well enough to watch the late night IU game with him.  

Valentine's Day - A Change in Attitude

After feeling sorry for myself for being alone on Super Bowl Sunday, I vowed to make the best out of Valentine's Day without Doug.  It had been years since we had gone out on the holiday, but there was usually a nice dinner at home, a favorite movie and flowers when we were together.  I knew that wouldn't be the case this year with him in Florida, so I made up my mind to enjoy the day no matter what happened.  

First thing this morning, I called Doug to wish him a Happy Valentine's Day.  He was already at work, but still appreciated the phone call.  I then gave Cameron his Valentine's gift.  He was thrilled with the Eminem vinyl that I gave him and his gift form Grandma as well.  Once Cameron left for school, I texted Meg, Brett and Cal to wish them a Happy Valentine's and to tell them to enjoy the day with the extra cash that I put in their checking accounts.  

I spent the rest of the morning in Goshen grocery shopping.  Cameron and Alina planned to make dinner together at our home tonight and needed a few ingredients for their sandwich and soup meal.  I also wanted to stop at Menards for some bird food.  While there I found the cutest holiday gnomes.  As they were on sale, I decided to add them to my limited Valentine and St. Patrick's Day decorations.  I texted Doug a picture of them to let him know that I bought my Valentine's gift from him.  He just laughed.

My parents invited me to dinner tonight to celebrate the holiday.  We decided to go early to avoid the Valentine crowd.  I was in the mood for a taco salad and so was my mom.  Thus, Los Toritos was the place for us.  The food was nice and I enjoyed the company.  Cameron got home just as I arrived.  He had played golf with Noah and Keegan after school.  They had spent a lot of their time trash talking one another, but overall had a good time.  Alina came over a little later.  They had a lot of fun making dinner together.  While they were busy in the kitchen, I started work on Cameron's t-shirt blanket and talked to Doug a few times.  It was definitely a different Valentine's Day from the last 30+ ones that I have spent with him, but overall it was still very nice.  

Happy 28th Birthday, Brett!

Today was Brett's 28th birthday.  I texted him at midnight to wish him a great day, hoping to be the first one to say it.  I then called Brett before he left for work to see how he felt about being 28.  We both realized that it wasn't he who felt old, but me, as I now had a child that was more than half my age.  As we talked, I thought back to other birthdays and even the day Brett was born.  Those days all seemed so long ago.  I loved having him at home, but I think Brett being an adult suits him well and a lot of my favorite memories of him revolve around the last decade.  

I called Brett later in the evening to see how his day had gone.  He said that at first it didn't feel like his birthday, but that changed once he got to work and everyone wished him a happy day.  He also enjoyed all of the birthday posts that he received on social media.  Tonight Carson and Meg stopped by to drop off gifts and to wish him a Happy Birthday as well.  Brett enjoyed opening the present from Grandma and Grandpa (which Carson took credit for) that included the karaoke machine from his childhood days.  He remembered how much fun everyone had with it and was looking forward to using it in the future.  Meg gave him her gift as well - a Sam the Eagle sipper from Epcot.  Brett absolutely loved it as that has always been the Muppet that he has identified with the most.  The best part for Brett was that once the celebration was over tonight, he could still look forward to our trip to Bloomington on Thursday complete with more presents and dessert.  He said that it felt more like a birthday week instead of just a day.  I was pleased that he was so happy.  That was what was most important to me on his 28th trip around the sun.  

Super Bowl Party for One

For the first time in over thirty years I spent Super Bowl Sunday alone.  Doug was in Florida with his brother where they enjoyed some of his homemade beer and Doug's shredded potatoes.  Brett forgo the game all together, instead watching a movie with a friend.  Cal hung out with his roommates watching the game at their apartment.  Meg went to a party at Carson's and Cameron spent the evening at Samuel's with his group of friends.  Thus, it was very quiet here. 

I know that I could have watched the game with my parents, but I really wanted to work on Cameron's school book while the game was on and that was easier to do here.  Doug and Meg both called a couple of times and there were several comments on the group text, but overall it was a very boring evening.  Except for a few, the commercials really weren't that entertaining either.  The game was close, but it felt like both teams scored each time either touched the ball.  I also wasn't that vested into who won as  I was ok with either team winning.  There was a fumble recovery that led to a Chiefs touchdown, but other than that there wasn't much excitement.  The last drive of the game ended with a questionable flag thrown on the Eagles giving Kansas City a short distance to an easy field goal.  It made the close game extremely disappointing.  Hopefully, next year will be different and I won't spend the Super Bowl alone eating Cream of Wheat.  

Two Great Wins

This Saturday brought some great basketball once again.  First, up was the Regional Championship game for the Bethany girls' basketball team.  Cameron left early this morning for the team breakfast and then rode the bus to Caston High School.  I drove Grandma and Grandpa the hour plus trip to the game.  Even with the long drive, we were very happy that we decided to go.  The game was intense and hard fought.  The stands were filled with loud crowds and a lot of cheering students.  The defense was tough on both sides and the game was close throughout.  Bethany eventually pulled ahead and won by eight.   It was Bethany's first ever Regional win for the girls' basketball team and a lot of fun to watch Cameron cut down a piece of the net.  

We made it home in plenty of time for the second game on our watch list today.  IU played Michigan in Ann Arbor this evening and just like this afternoon, it was intense, hard fought, and close from start to finish.  The one big difference was that Michigan led for 80% of the game.  IU took advantage of their opponent's shooting dry spell in the last five minutes of the game to pull ahead and eventually win 62-61.  It was an exciting game for Hoosier fans.  It put IU in second place all alone in the Big Ten Conference.  It also brought a lot of attention from the sports media as they had now won eight of their last nine games.  There was even talk of them being a Final Four contender.  Whether that happens or not, we're just all excited with how well they have played during the last six weeks.  

Pilot Boy

We have known Nick for over four years now.  We have watched him graduate from high school and college.  He has spent countless hours at our house hanging out with our family.  We know that he likes ridges on his pasta noodles and loves to play board games.  He's traveled several places with us including both Bloomington and Florida.  Recently, he spent all of Christmas break with us as his family had Covid.  Needless to say, he's definitely become a part of the Heinisch family.

One important part of Nick's life that we spent a lot of time talking with him about this fall was job hunting.  Although, we had helped Brett, Cal and Meg with their career search, we knew absolutely nothing about how to get a job as a pilot.  Thankfully, Nick figured that out pretty quickly as he had a network of pilots to talk to at Purdue.  Instead of helping with the search, we focused on just being supportive of his efforts instead.  I would listen to his or Meg's ideas on where and what he wanted to do.  Doug helped him with his resume and ultimately read the contract before he signed for his current position.

In all of the time that we have spent with Nick, I never really thought about the fact that he would be a pilot one day.  Even when he was texting us from the Indianapolis airport while we were circling the runway, letting us know why we were delayed in landing, it just didn't dawn on me that one day he would be in the air, getting ready for take off and assessing the plane for any maintenance issues.  

That changed this week.  As I was listening to Meg talk about all of the places that Nick would be visiting over the next ten days, I noticed a picture on my camera roll.  It was him in his pilot uniform, all smiles in the mirror.  That was when I finally realized, "Wow, Nick really is a pilot."  At that moment, I was so incredibly proud of how hard he worked to make his dream come true.  The next day a new picture on my camera roll showed up.  It was still Nick in uniform, but this time making a goofy face that I was more used to seeing.  I texted Meg immediately and said, "Now, that's the Nick I know."

Drain Weasel

I have struggled with my shower drain for quite some time.  We tried Drano in it, which always helped, but within a few days I would be standing in a few inches of water once again while showering.  Doug and I even talked about putting our slow draining shower on the plumber to-do list when we called him this spring.  

Our plans changed drastically yesterday morning when I realized that I was standing in water well over my ankles that took over an hour to drain once I turned off the shower.  I knew then that Drano probably wasn't going to solve that problem.  I called my Dad to see what he thought.  He had a plumber's snake, but we would have to figure out how to take off the stopper on the drain to use it.  I really didn't want to do that if I could avoid it.

As I had to run to Walmart yesterday for groceries, I decided to stop by Menards to see if they sold anything that might be able to help.  I was actually surprised by how many products there were for this exact problem.  I read the back of each tool, looked over all of them, and finally picked one that I thought might work.  The name didn't sell me on my choice, but I did get a kick out of it and quickly purchased the "Drain Weasel."  

I showed Cameron my $5.99 prize.  He looked at me right before he left for Goshen and said, "Don't get your hopes up, Mom.  Remember the Christmas light repair gun that never even fixed one bulb?"  I realized that he was right about that disaster, but remained hopeful as most of my other DIY home repairs had actually worked.  Cameron hadn't even made it to New Paris when I called to tell him that I had found success.  The Drain Weasel worked perfectly.  It was disgusting to clean out the drain, but water flowed down it easily afterward.  The main culprit was hair, but I even pulled out a bandaid from when we got our original Covid shots that didn't help the situation.  

I was so excited with my success, that I tried the second Drain Weasel wand on one of my bathroom sinks.  I remembered that I had barely used it lately as it took forever to drain.  A couple quick turns of the handle and instantly the drain was clear.  I called my Dad to offer my plumbing services.  When he saw the number, he was more afraid that I got my hand stuck in the drain.  Thankfully, I didn't need to take the stopper off to use the tool, so there was no concern about that.  I let Doug know about my newfound product as well.  He was so happy that I saved him a plumber's bill that he agreed to try it on Meg's shower upstairs.  After seeing all of the hair in my two drains, I was ok letting him do the next couple.  Later in the evening I realized that the 1970s song "Dream Weaver" was stuck in my head.  I had inadvertently changed the lyrics to "Drain Weasel", however.  Guess it was a sign of a successful purchase.  

 

Future Travels

While Doug and I were driving back from Chicago on Sunday, we began to talk about our vision of the future.  Neither one of us had really planned much past the year 2023 as we had been focused on helping Cameron get started on his life outside of the Heinisch home.  Once we accomplished that, we knew that we both wanted to move out of Syracuse, preferably to warmer weather.  Living in a small town had worked well while we were raising our children, but we wanted access to a larger variety of restaurants and more activities than Syracuse had to offer.  Once we realized that Ocala would provide both and still give Doug a place to work, we became most interested in moving there.

One thing that we hadn't discussed in years was where we would travel once we were empty nesters.  During the last thirty years, we had taken some wonderful trips alone and with our children.  During that time we had thrown out ideas of other places that we might visit one day - Ireland, Mount Rushmore and Key West were high on the list.  We also talked about revisiting some of our favorites vacation spots including Vermont and California.  

The more we discussed our future travels on Sunday, the more we realized that our thoughts had changed drastically over the past year.  What became most important to us was traveling to see our children.  Trips to Chicago and Bloomington with a few day trips in Florida sounded great to both of us.  We were absolutely thrilled that Cal had booked a trip to Ireland with his friends and that both Meg and Brett had talked about visiting the Vatican in the near future.  We would love to hear all about their vacations and to see the pictures that they took, no matter where they went.  For us, however, we would be content just visiting them.  Maybe that will change one day, but for now, I was definitely happy that we were on the same page about our future travels.  

Three Days, Three Heinisch Visits

I stayed at Brett's last night, so Meg could study.  I had also spent a lot more time with Meg in December and January than Brett, so I hoped to catch up with him.  We had some great conversations and I listened to his thoughts on the next few months.  He was definitely excited about running for city council and for his hours to change in May.  

This morning I was able to finish both Meg and Brett's taxes with them.  There were a few differences from last year that threw a wrench into the works for awhile - Meg filing as a non-resident in Illinois and Brett's 401K transferring at work.  We figured them out, however, and both will receive a nice return from the federal government.

Meg had to work today so she did not join us at McAlister's for lunch.  Brett and I enjoyed our soups and brought some back for Meg.  I hung out with her while she ate and worked.  She filled me in on what was happening with her Bible study group, what she thought of her classes and where Nick was flying this week.  It was nice to have some time with her before I left.  

I wasn't really ready to head home, but Meg had plans to go to the basketball game tonight and Brett had a meeting with the Monroe County Republican Party where he would be introduced to the group.  Cameron was also ready for me to get back.  He had plans with Alina this evening, but would be around later in the evening.  I talked to both Meg and Brett later in the evening.  They had enjoyed their evenings with IU winning and Brett feeling success after his event.  I was very glad to hear that.  After three visits in the last three days, I realized that there was no better feeling than seeing your adult children navigate the "real world" and be happy in their own lives.