Today was Grandpa Cutes' 80th birthday. Due to Doug and Cameron's work and school schedules, we decided that it would be best to celebrate last night. Doug took us all to the Channel Marker for dinner. We hadn't been there in years and everyone really enjoyed their meals. We asked Grandpa about his radio days. I didn't realize that he started working at WKAM the same year that the Beatles became big in the United States. I told Cameron that I thought it was the perfect summer job and I was sure that the Heinisch children would have all liked working there as well.
After dinner we went back to our house to open gifts. Brett gave Grandpa 80 orange slices to honor the day. Cal followed suit with 80 "birthtees" for his golf game. Cameron and Meg's gifts celebrated Grandpa's youth and their shared time in his beloved home town - a bottle of Pepsi and a big banana from Cameron and a Milford, Indiana long sleeve shirt from Meg. I gave him a booklet of what had occurred on key years in his life - 1943, 1963, 1979, 1995 and 2020. It was fun looking up all of the information and interesting to see the differences in music, news events, movies and more over the decades of his life. We ended the evening playing our favorite card game - Oh Hell! Instead of letting the octogenarian win, we destroyed him, sending him home with the last place bird.
Today everyone in the Heinisch family wished him a happy birthday with either a text, phone call or social media post. Grandpa said that he absolutely loved it all. It was hard for all of us to believe that he was really 80 years old. My Dad still looks like he did when our children were born and still has the same enthusiasm for hanging out with them as he did when they were little. In fact, he and Cameron walked nine holes yesterday, enjoying a beautiful afternoon together. I love that they all have a close relationship with their Grandpa, and I appreciate how much of a part of their lives that he has been. Thankfully, he doesn't seem to have any signs of slowing down, so they'll be able to hang out with him for many more years to come.
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