The 2022 Photo Album

Yesterday, I finally finished and ordered our family's 2022 photo album.  It sounded strange to say that I just finished a photo album from two years ago, but that was the case.  I do not ever remember taking that long to finish one of our photo albums, but when I look back at the pictures from that year, it totally makes sense.  It was by far one of the most challenging years of my life and I wasn't really ready until now to digest all that happened that year.  Doug was constantly working and traveling to Florida.  He was also dealing with some health issues and a serious personal issue.  Cameron lost Richard and struggled emotionally to get through the rest of the year.  During that same time period, I was busy getting the house ready to sell on my own, but most of my energy went to supporting Cameron and Doug.  It was hard and I was running on pure adrenal for the last four months of the year.  Looking at the pictures brought all of that back and until this fall, I wasn't ready to deal with it.  

The best part about going back through all of the photos was that I could finally put that year to rest.  It had been very challenging, but there were so many good things that happened as well.  Meg started her senior year and had a wonderful time hanging out with her friends.  She was also given a job offer from Plante Moran, which was a huge relief to her.  Cal was finding a lot of success in his career and enjoyed multiple trips with his friends including a fun weekend at our home hosting fourteen of them.  Brett began a campaign for city council and learned a lot about the political process.  Cameron had very rewarding tennis and golf seasons.  He was completely supported by the Bethany community as he learned to move forward without Richard by his side.  He made several new friends that are still part of his life today.

In the end, I was glad that I finally finished the 2022 photo album.  It was a project that I was completely dreading, but one that I needed to complete as it provided a lot of healing for me personally.  Next up is Meg's wedding photo album.  That should be a lot of fun and I am looking forward to getting that started.

Dancing with the Stars

Tonight was the night that Meg and I had been waiting for since last Halloween - Dancing with the Stars returned to television. Even Cal and Doug were excited about it.  The show featured all new dancers, and we were excited to see them.  Meg had already decided that the "pommel horse guy" from the Olympics was here number one.  I figured that my early favorite would be Reginald VelJohnson, aka Carl Winslow from Family Matters.  

I had picked up Crumbl Cookies to celebrate the night and we turned on Disney+ at 8 p.m. hyped for the new season.  The dancing was really strong tonight.  By the end, there were five dancers that stood above the rest.  Unfortunately, Reginald wasn't one of them, but he was 72 and not expected to stay long.  Doug's favorite of the night was Danny Amendola, wide receiver from the Patriots and with Dwight Howard, former NBA player, a close second.  They were very impressive.  Neither were as good as the pommel horse guy, but definitely early contenders for the mirrored ball trophy.

I talked to Meg several times during the night.  She was just as excited about the show as I was.  We both agreed that the convicted felon should have never been invited to participate on the show but were positive that she would be the first to be voted out.  The only negative on the night was when Nick texted me a voice memo singing the song, "Hot to Go!"  Otherwise, the night was a lot of fun and a great way to spend an entertaining evening.  

Too Old for This

Last weekend, Doug and I decided to go to Epcot for their annual Food and Wine Festival. It had started in August but we hadn’t been able to find a weekend to go. We were both excited as we loved the food there and I always love walking around countries. We thought that we would also ride a few rides and pick up my annual pass magnet as Pumba and Timon were featured.

We started on the Canada side of the countries and found several dishes to try right away. I was a little bit disappointed that Ireland did not have a stand this year but was extremely excited when I saw the same chocolate cake at the Americas booth. We really liked everything that we sampled. The chili dog from the US was probably my favorite, although the chocolate cake and the pumpkin ravioli were very good as well. Doug liked everything he ate, and it was a fun afternoon.

The only downside to going last weekend was that it was extremely hot. We tried to cool off by riding Sorin', but the line was too long. We also didn’t realize that the magnets were actually at Animal Kingdom so we had to stop there on the way out of town. I didn’t do very well with the heat and after three hours, we knew that it was time to head home.

Since we had a free Sunday this weekend, I suggested to Doug that we go back to Epcot. He was more than interested and we headed to there for lunch after the bake sale. I was thankful that it was cooler than last weekend, but as we were leaving a couple stopped us and said to be prepared as it was really hot. They were right, but we stayed in the shade and drink plenty of liquids to stay hydrated. We got to sample different food this time and loved all of it, especially the peanut butter and jelly wings. We once again headed to Soarin' at the end of our trip around the countries, but I realized that I just couldn’t make it. I was too hot and too tired to stay longer. Doug didn’t mind leaving because riding the rides is not his number one priority. He was very glad, however, that we got to try the food again.

I spent the rest of the night watching the Bears football game and resting. I hate to say it, but I’m pretty sure I’m too old to do this anymore at least not in the heat. Thankfully, Doug said he didn’t care how long we stayed; it was just fun doing something together. I was very glad to hear that.

Church Bake Sale

For the past three days I have been busy helping with the Blessed Trinity Council of Catholic Women bake sale.  I missed last year's as we were in Indiana that weekend.  I also had just joined and wasn't exactly sure how to help.  This year was completely different as I had become a board member and was at the meetings while the bake sale was being planned.  I am not one to bake, but did sign up to work at several masses.  When Robbi asked for volunteers to also help bag and label the baked goods, I made myself available for that as well.  In the end it was a very rewarding experience, and I was extremely glad that I volunteered.

On Friday morning, I arrived at the church at 9 a.m. and helped carry out all of the baked items that had been dropped off to Robbi's van.  We took them to her house and spent the morning and part of the early afternoon bagging, labeling and getting the baked goods ready for the sale.  We only sampled one cookie while we were there and that was because we weren't sure if it had nuts or not.  It was very good and I made a note to buy a bag or two of them tomorrow at the actual sale.  We finished up in time to go to a late lunch together at McAlister's. I got to know a lot more about Robbi and really enjoyed the day.

Yesterday, I bagged up some of my own baked items and took them to the church at 2:30.  I didn't help with set up because I had to work the gift shop before the 4 p.m. mass.  I did stay after mass to help.  I was impressed with how many people showed up to purchase bags of cookies, breads and muffins.  We were all pleased with the amount that we sold in such a short period of time.  I bought some cookies for Doug and Phil to try during the IU game tonight.  They were delicious.

Today, I was back at the church at 9:15 to help once again.  It was a lot of fun.  We weren't the only ones that were selling items or promoting our ministry.  The boy scouts were there with spaghetti dinner tickets.  Father Pat's book was for sale along with fair trade coffee and teas.  Barry had a table set up with the Catholic science book that he was promoting and a place to sign up for prayers to St. Bernadette that he will deliver when he travels to Ireland in October.  I stayed until noon helping with the sale.  Our bake goods were so popular that we weren't sure that we would have enough for the 5 p.m. mass that night.  I was happy to be a part of such a positive experience.  It was the reason that I joined BTCCW last fall and was very glad that I did.

5th Year Class Reunion

Meg and Nick left for Syracuse last night after she got off of work. This weekend was their fifth-year class reunion, and they were looking forward to attending even though their closest friends weren’t able to be there. It was a little bit hard to believe that it was already five years since Meg had graduated from Bethany, but so much had happened in those five years that it also seemed like a long period of time. Either way, I was glad that they would be able to attend, spend time with grandma and grandpa, and see Millie before they headed back to Chicago on Sunday.  They had even planned on taking time to visit KeShawn's grave.  Meg knew that he would have loved attending their five year.

Meg called me today to let me know that the reunion was a success. It was held at Bethany during alumni weekend. There was a food truck and activities for their class. Meg and Nick weren’t the only ones in their class that had gotten married since they graduated. Another student had wed last year. They both enjoyed talking to him and meeting his wife. They had a lot of shared experiences and talked about getting together again this fall in Chicago. Before they left, they took pictures of their composite photos that now hung digitally on the wall at Bethany. I was very happy to hear that everything had went well. Class reunions can be hard but going into them with the right attitude and realistic expectations makes all the difference.

How Can You Get Dates Dressed as a Cockroach?

I have really been enjoying watching different IU sporting events on the Big Ten+ app.  Today I was able to catch a field hockey game and a women's volleyball game.  The women won their field hockey game easily against Ball State.  It's not a sport that I completely understand, but it is fun to watch.  It's also the one that Cameron is a chairman of, so I keep up with what's happening with the team pretty easily.  This afternoon Cameron carried the flag after each goal and led cheers in the student section.

Tonight, Doug, Phil and I watched the volleyball game.  Phil said that it is his favorite women's sport to watch.  I was surprised to hear that, because Doug and I thought that it was a little long but were glad that he was willing to watch it with us. We knew that Cameron was at this game as well, but didn't see him right away.  After a couple of points, I found him in the second row dressed as a cockroach along with many of his peers.  It was fun to see the students cheer after each point and taunt the opposing team's players.  The announcers on television said that IU had one of the best volleyball student sections in the Big Ten. I knew from Cameron that the coach loved having them there and planned on a pizza party for the students at the end of the season.

Phil found the student section very entertaining, especially the costumes.  He mentioned multiple times that there was no way Cameron would ever get a date dressed as a cockroach.  I thought that was pretty funny as Cameron didn't usually have a lot of problems getting attention from girls.  I also knew that he wasn't looking to date anyone right now.  I tried to tell Phil that, but he still was positive that Cameron needed to change up his costume to get college girls' attention.  After a little bit of debate, I finally showed him a recent picture of Cameron with a group of co-eds in a car, all of whom had been dressed as cockroaches at the volleyball games.  Phil just laughed when I reminded him that Cameron might just be a little more in touch with college girls right now then his uncle's memory of years ago.

Narcissim

 A few years ago, someone that I know told me that she was divorcing her husband because he was a narcissist.  I said that I was very sorry to hear that, but in all honesty had no idea what that word meant.  Since that time period, I have done more research and have gone beyond just the definition - "selfishness, involving a sense of entitlement, a lack of empathy and a need for admiration."  It is one of the most difficult personality disorders to deal with and cannot easily be corrected.  The list of symptoms was extensive and extremely negative. It wasn't a word to use lightly, and I stopped feeling bad for the person who told me that she was leaving her husband.  I had known him for years and he was no more a narcissist than I was.  Narcissism isn't something that a person hides well, so there was no way that he was that way to her and not to the rest of the world.  That didn't mean that he wasn't a jerk at times.  I could agree with that, but to call him a narcissism was cruel.  Over time, I was proved correct.  She was calling him names to get out of a relationship because of personal reasons.  

Researching about narcissism also answered questions that I had about another situation in our life. Someone that we had to deal with frequently not only displayed one symptom, but almost every one of them.  They definitely have an unreasonably high sense of self-importance, feel they deserve special treatment, make achievements bigger than they are, are preoccupied with success and power, expect people to do what they want without questioning, unwilling to recognize the needs of others and brag a lot.  Once I read that a light bulb went off.  They have been awful to deal with over the years and this answered exactly why that was.  

As excited as I was to finally have an answer to why this was an issue, the research that I did into how to deal with the situation wasn't promising.  Gaslighting, disarming their words, become emotionless and completely walking away from the relationship were just a few of the suggestions.  If a narcissist only sees themselves as a victim or a hero and never takes blame for anything, it is really challenging to maintain any type of relationship.  After a lot of discussion, I am not sure how everyone in our family will handle the situation, but for me, for now, I chose to walk away.  I can't let someone else control my mood or influence my life anymore.  

Time to Move On

It's time to move on, it's time to get going
What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
It's time to move on, time to get going

The Tom Petty song "Time to Move On" has been playing on repeat in our house lately.  Sometimes it is through Spotify and other times it is just playing inside my head.  It has become the anthem of our fall and a great reminder that there are times in life that things just have to change.  As Doug and I look to make some major changes in our life in the near future, the song reminds me that it's ok not to know where life is headed.  It also gives me great hope for a new beginning.  Either way, it is "time to move on" and I am excited about the possibilities that moving on will bring.

Roof Success

When we bought our house almost 3 years ago, we knew that two things would have to be addressed within a couple of years. The first that we would need to tackle was painting the exterior of the home. Cement block homes are the best for the harsh weather of Florida, but the stucco on them starts to crack over time. The inspector when we bought our home recommended painting it within a year or two of ownership. We did that last October and the house looked fantastic.

The second project was a bigger and more expensive one.  We were told that we had 3 to 5 years of life left on the roof. We were surprised at that as roofs in Indiana normally lasted 25 to 30 before they needed replacement, and ours was only 18 years old.  The weather in Florida, however, is a lot tougher on home structures and most have to be replaced within 15 to 20 years. It still looked OK, but we knew that looks wouldn't help during hurricane season. Last fall, our painter told us that we probably had two more years of life on the roof. Thus, I waited until this summer to do research on roof replacement. I found out that our homeowners could cancel our policy if our roof was 20 years old. I didn't want that to happen so I decided to have two local roofing companies come out and evaluate it. One suggested that we also have our insurance company look at it as well.  All three of them got up on our roof and inspected it.  Each said that there was some hail damage but nothing major.  The shingles, however, had very little granules left, so it was definitely time for a new roof.

Neither Doug, nor I were surprised by that reality. Thankfully, I had saved money from our last year‘s budget for roof replacement. The two local roofers that came out to inspect it also gave us quotes.  They were both had great reviews, were highly recommended and were very knowledgeable. We ended up going with Big D roofing. The name sounded strange, but they had the best quote and we really liked their sales person. He was extremely honest and answered all of my questions. He came out twice to meet with us, offered to have our existing attic fan vent painted to match the roof and didn't talk us into new solar tubes when they weren't needed. We would also get all new vents and drip guards. We signed the papers and picked September 9th to start. We were hoping to get it all finished by the time that we left for Indiana in late September.

The roofers arrived yesterday morning at six a.m. At first, I thought it was thundering, but then realized that it was them walking on our roof.  They worked until dusk before picking up for the night.  We were impressed with how much they had gotten done even with taking a short break for rain.  They had just started the shingles when they quit for the evening.  Today they arrived at 8 a.m. and by 4 p.m. were pulling out of the driveway after thoroughly cleaning up.  I swept up afterward and only found two nails.  Both of them were hidden under something and almost impossible to see. 

Doug and I walked around the outside of the house this evening when he got home from work.  We were extremely pleased with the look of the roof.  The brown on the previous one did not match the gray very well and our roof had a lot of staining in the back.  Our new hearthstone shingles matched perfectly and the house looked fantastic.  All we have left to do is wait for the wind mitigation test and we should be completely finished.  As much as I was dreading the process, it was a lot less painful than I ever thought that it would be.  

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Happy Birthday CrapPa

Today was my grandpa‘s birthday. Although I never stop thinking about him or forget what he meant to me, there are times that I do not remember what date it is. Thus, I love that every September 9 the first thing on my Facebook memories is this wonderful picture of my grandpa and I at my wedding. It wasn’t staged. It’s just who we were. He loved to give me a hard time, and I loved to be around him. That is so obvious from my smile. My grandfather and I spent tons of time together, even after he moved to Florida. He meant the world to me and was such an important part of my life. The wedding photo shows that and the memories in my heart know that.

Today, this picture reminded me not only of my own grandpa, but also the relationship that my own children have with their grandparents. I have had a lot of time to reflect about grandparents and children this past year. I love that my children feel the way about their grandparents that I felt about mine. They love visiting them, love hearing their stories, enjoy hanging out with them, and continually share their favorite memories of them to me. Each one has a special place in my heart and I just love watching that. They have been a support system for my children since the day that they were born, and it's nice to know that they were such an important part of their growing up days. Everyone knew Grandpa Cutes and Grandma Jane who lovingly became Backroads Bill and Mainroad Muss to Cal's friends. They were at every event that the kids participated in and watched every sports match that they could. They bought tickets to Fish Frys and took them golfing. My children spent countless nights at their house, fishing, playing cards, or just hanging out. My parents will forever live in my children’s heart, just like my own grandparents do.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about my children having children of their own. I want to be a grandparent that my grandchildren will remember, no matter how far away I live. I want to make memories with them. I want to support them. I want to be an active part of their lives with no strings attached. I don’t want to hold money over their head for them to contact me or manipulate them into visiting me. I want them to hang out with me because they love me and I love them. That bond can only happen if it starts young. So, no matter where my grandchildren are, I will make a concerted effort to be a part of their life. Unconditional love is the best legacy that I can leave my family.  It would also be the best way to honor a grandfather who taught me the true meaning of the phrase many years ago.

Greatest Football Upset Ever?

Growing up in northern Indiana, you would think that Notre Dame would be my absolute favorite team. Instead, it was quite the opposite. Because everyone was a Notre Dame fan and all we heard about was Notre Dame football and Notre Dame basketball, I really couldn’t stand them. Even our local television station was named WNDU. I felt like the Notre Dame was shoved down our throats, and I actually became to despise them. Even after I became Catholic, I did not change my opinion, and shortly after Doug moved to Northern Indiana he understood exactly why I couldn’t stand the Fighting Irish.

This weekend Doug and I decided to go to Epcot for the day and try out the Food and Wine festival. Since IU had played their football game Friday night, we had a free afternoon.  The only game on today that we talked about watching was Notre Dame against NIU. None of us thought it would be close, so it was a good game to miss especially since Notre Dame was actually a four touchdown favorite.  Even so, there was no argument that we would be cheering for the Huskies in spirit. Jeannette had worked at Northern for a long time, the Heinisch family had grown up in DeKalb, and Dan had graduated from NIU.  

Doug and I left Walt Disney World at halftime of the game and decided to listen to it on the way home even though we realized that it probably was a blowout by then. We were absolutely shocked to see that Northern had a six point lead at half. Cameron called to make sure that we knew what the score was. We were all excited about their lead, but figured that Notre Dame would come back and destroy them in the second half. When we hung up the phone 20 minutes later, we were correct, Notre Dame had come back, but they only had a one point lead. We were positive that there was no way that Irish would lose.

Doug and I made it home in time to finish the last five minutes of the game on TV.  It was close to the very end, but Northern pulled it out on a last second field goal winning 16-14. None of us could believe it. The Huskie's coach had played football at NIU, named his son after one of the dorms on campus and absolutely loved his alma mater. Watching him fall to the ground in tears afterward was awesome but none of that compared to the fact that Notre Dame had just gotten upset in one of the most embarrassing games ever. I know that Michigan losing to Appalachian State was probably the biggest upset of all time, but for me, however, this was the best ever.

The Big Cup

The favorite golf tournament of the year at Maxwelton for the past three decades has been the Big Cup. It started when I was in college and I loved coming home to play in it.  I remember at first thinking that the enlarged cups for the tournament would be as big as a bucket. Honesty, that didn’t make sense. Cups that large would completely destroy the greens. Instead, the cups, were about 2 to 3 times the size of a normal hole.  At first it sounded like that would make it a lot easier to score, but the pin placements in the tournament were always some of the hardest. It was so much fun to play in as you never knew where your ball was going to go on the green and you felt like an eagle was possible on every hole.

This weekend, Grandpa invited Cal and Cameron to play with him in the Big Cup. I was so glad that both of them were free. I hoped that they would do well, but knew that no matter they would have a lot of fun.  Grandpa found a fourth to play with them and my expectations were correct. They had a wonderful time together this afternoon.

The foursome started out fourteen which is one the hardest holes at Maxwelton no matter what tournament is scheduled. They were happy to make par, but were a little bum that they then parred the next four holes as several of them were typically counted as birdie holes. When they got to number one their par streak changed for the better.  They went on to shoot 12 under on the next 14 holes. The highlight was an eagle on number two that they hoped would hold up for a skin. Grandpa almost had a hole-in-one on three with the ball just rolling over the cup. Their final score of 12 under was good enough to tie them for third place. Unfortunately, they lost in a back up. That was made even worse by the fact that their eagle on two was cancelled by another team, knocking them out of the skin pot.

I heard from Cal, Grandpa, and Cameron tonight. My dad had also texted out pictures.  Thus, I could see and hear just how much fun the three of them really  had today. I loved listening to all of their stories.  I remembered feeling that same way years ago when I played in the annual event.  I hung up incredibly thankful that the day had gone so well for them no matter the outcome. 

My "Favorite"

Meg is always giving me a hard time that Cal is my favorite. I think that’s really funny, because I know that I don’t have any favorites. She has said it so much now that Cal tells everybody that he’s the favorite too. 

I do have to say that Cal is the one child of mine that when he calls, I stop what I’m doing, answer the phone, and talk to him for as long as he wants. It isn’t because he’s the favorite as Meg claims. It is actual because he doesn’t call as often as the other three do. I love talking to all of them, but I hear from Cameron and Meg almost daily. Brett calls at least three times a week. Cal texts a lot, but he doesn’t call as much, maybe once a week.  Thus, it’s a bigger deal when he calls, which is why I always make sure that I am available.

Tonight, Cal called on his way back from work. He had gone to the Beef House this week while working at a bank.  Both he and Doug had visited the famed restaurant before on various accounting jobs and had really enjoyed their meals.  Cal told me about his dinner, the staff person that he had to take with him to work, what Maggie was up to, and how he was feeling about the golf tournament that he was playing in this weekend with Grandpa. We also caught up on the different movies that we had seen lately and the ones that were coming out. We decided that our favorite series on television of all time was Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. It was fun listening to him talk while he drove on the back roads of Indiana to Grandma’s.

When Cal hung up I thought about the last year of Jeannette’s life. Brett would call her every week while he was in college. I knew that she loved that  and after she died, Rowene told me that Jeannette would stop whatever she was doing when Brett called to talk to him. Just like me, she didn’t have favorites, but instead wanted to take full advantage of her time with him.  I understand that feeling so much better now that all of my children have left home. I know that I am incredibly blessed to still be such an important part of their lives even though they are miles away.

Wedding Planning

When Meg was planning her wedding, she told me right away that she wanted to do all the planning and would ask me when she needed specific help. That worked great for me. I had already planned my own wedding. I wasn’t looking to relive that through one of my children. Meg had specific items that she wanted me to be in charge of, but for the most part her and Nick did everything and used me more as a cheerleader than an organizer.

When I asked Brett and Karen what they would like me to do to help with wedding preparations, they had a different answer. Since they both work during the day, they were interested in me being the contact person, information gatherer, and support system. Meg said that she would help as well and this week we started on the preparations.

Karen was able to secure the church which was awesome as they now had a wedding date set.  Meg told us that the next big step was finding a reception hall as soon as possible. Karen had asked the church as they had a gym, but then she and Brett would have to supply all of the tables, chairs, caterer, bartender, etc. That seemed a little daunting.  Meg sent her a link to a reception hall in the area that she thought would work really well. Brett asked me to call them and today I had a lot of great information to pass a long from the Knights of Columbus. They had the perfect hall for a reception at an affordable price that included exactly what Brett and Karen would need. I was excited about the possibility of that and turned the contact information over to them so they could look at it next weekend. After that, I helped them plan a budget and come up with a timeline of getting things done for the wedding.

I am looking forward to helping Brett and Karen as much as they need or as little as they want. I know they will have a fun wedding that is perfect for them. I am super thankful that Meg just did all of this so we have some great ideas to start. I reminded Brett and Karen, just like I did Meg and Nick, it’s not about the wedding day, it’s about starting a marriage. As long as they remember that, the wedding plans will go very well.

Oh S*#%!

Dan called me this afternoon on his way into work. He had taken a half day off to be home for a washer and dryer to be installed. I really enjoy talking to Dan He calls frequently to keep me abreast of what his family is up to and to check on what is happening in Florida.

Dan was in the middle of a story today when all of a sudden I heard “Oh S*#%!”  I was a little worried at first that maybe he had hit something. He quickly told me that he had just gotten pulled over. I felt terrible for him and hung up right away. Dan called back later to let me know that he had gotten a ticket. True to his personality, he made a joke, told a story and started talking about his day at work.

I told Doug, Meg, and Cameron the story later that day. They thought it was funny and were relieved that it wasn’t them getting the ticket. My dad called tonight and I told him that I had been talking to Dan when all of a sudden I heard “Oh S*#%!”  I barely got the words out of my mouth, when my dad said “Oh, a speeding ticket, huh?”  He never even considered that it would be anything else. Years of experience and traffic tickets of long ago made my dad realize exactly what I would say next. That made me laugh harder than Dan getting a ticket.

Rain Cloud

For the past several years, it felt like a rain cloud followed over our family. It was as if anything that could go wrong, did. It wasn’t just minor things, but life-changing events that made a huge impact on our family.

Because of that, I realize that I have lost a lot of optimism about life. Whenever something happens, that could go well or could have a tragic end, I always assume the worst. I didn’t used to be that way, but life is hard and it’s challenging to rebound from that.  I have tried really hard, and I have prayed a lot, but sometimes it feels like nothing will ever go our way again.

Currently, we are dealing with the situation that just won’t resolve itself. Most days, I can be patient about it. Other days, however, I just want to cry. It’s hard when all you can do is wait for something, not knowing if it’s good news coming or bad. Every time I think about it positively, something in the pit of my stomach tells me that there’s no way anything good could ever happen again. Hopefully, I won’t feel like this forever, and I will find a way to deal with this feeling of impending doom. No one can go through life, always scared of what’s around the corner. Someone said that all dark skies do not produce rain, so for now, I’ll just believe that soon the rain cloud above me will breeze on by.

SAB and Big Ten Plus

Thursday night I was feeling a little bit down about the fact that we weren’t going to be in Bloomington this weekend. I knew that Cameron was going to the men’s and women’s soccer games, so I suggested to Doug that we watched them tonight. I didn’t know if we’d see Cameron at all like we did last year, but at least we’d feel closer to the action at IU. I was a little bit bummed when I saw that the games were not on the Big Ten network which we could watch for free, but on Big 10+.  It would cost me $13 to activate the streaming service and I wasn’t sure that I would use it very much. Doug said to go ahead and do it. He likes watching soccer and it was a lot cheaper than going to a movie.

Doug and I watched both the men and women’s games on Thursday night. Cameron was front and center in the Hoosier Army in both matches, and we saw him on the television screen multiple times. We even got to see him carry the IU flag after the men scored their first goal, high-fiving the crowd as he ran along the fence line. Afterward, Cameron told us that he was lighting off the smoke bombs during the game as well.  The running, humidity, and smoke were tough on his asthma, but otherwise he had a lot of fun. I was so glad that we got to watch it.

After the soccer games were over, I decided to see what else Big 10+ had to offer in the way of IU sports his weekend. I was pleased to see that there was another men’s soccer game on Sunday that we could watch. I was even more excited to see that they were televising women’s field hockey as well. I knew that Cameron would be at that one since he is a Student Athletic Board chairperson for that sport.  Doug and I made plans to watch both and enjoyed seeing Cameron once again at the soccer game and leading the cheers in the crowd at field hockey.

Tonight, we flipped on the women’s volleyball game. Neither Doug nor I were huge into that sport, but we knew that Cameron would be there with SAB. I thought it was doubtful that we would see him at the game as they were held in Assembly Hall and the crowds were pretty big. Thus, I was absolutely floored when on the first serve by the opponents team, there was Cameron in the background dressed as a cockroach. He wasn’t the only cockroach in the crowd. There was also a SpongeBob, a carton of milk, a pumpkin and many more costumes. The students helped rally the girls o victory.  

I was so happy to end our holiday weekend watching Cameron on the big screen again.  It had been awesome to be a part of all of the IU action even thought we couldn’t physically be in Bloomington. Tonight, I was incredibly thankful for Student Athletic Board and Big Ten Plus.  Both made our weekend a lot of fun. 

Labor Day Weekend

When we figured out that I would be helping Cameron move into his apartment the weekend of August 17, Doug and I talked about having me stay in Indiana afterward so he could meet me there for Labor Day weekend.  I loved the idea, because there is nothing more fun than Labor Day in Bloomington. We had visited it nine years in a row with our family before Covid and had so many fond memories of going to soccer games, tailgating at the football game, and visiting the art fair. 

After Brett called and said that he was going to go away with Karen for the weekend to propose, we changed our plans. We knew that Cameron would be busy with multiple Student Athletic Board events, and it just didn’t seem to make sense. Both of us were bummed, but we decided to pick a different weekend to go to Bloomington.  We then came up with different activities to enjoy in Florida during the holiday weekend.  Our plans changed once again when we found out on Thursday that Doug would probably have to work all weekend.  Plus, my sciatica had really started bothering me, so it made the most sense to stay closer to Ocala.

Doug was off early enough on Friday for us to have lunch at Jaws and take a walk at Sholom Park.  We then made it to the movie theater just in time to catch the new Alien movie. Cal had highly recommended it as he knew that Doug loved the original. It was better than I would have thought and extremely scary, just like the first one.  Afterward, we ordered pizza and breadsticks for dinner and enjoyed a nice evening at home watching the US Open.  Doug was also finally able to finish his Florida brewery puzzle.

Saturday, was a lot of fun. We talked to Cal on his drive back from Michigan with Maggie. He recommended a new drink called Honey Deuce that everyone was raving about from the U.S. Open. We decided to buy the ingredients for that to make after the IU football game. While we waited for the game to start, we talked to Brett and Karen and heard more about their engagement and their trip to the Biltmore. We were very excited to hear all of their plans.

Doug and Phil met up in the early afternoon to try the new German beer at Hiatus Brewing Company. Afterward, we all watched the IU game, hoping to catch a glimpse of Cameron on the field. He had been picked to participate in an on field challenge at the end of the first quarter. We didn’t see him, but we did hear from him multiple times and saw some great pictures on our camera roll.  When the game was over, Meg called to tell us how excited she was that she shot a 48 at Maxwelton with Grandma and Grandpa. It was the first time she had played golf in years and the first time that she had broken 50.

Today after church, our adventures took us to to Gainesville where we first visited Kanapaha botanical Garden. We found a new area to explore, and Doug saw the most fascinating woodpecker in the pine trees. Lunch was at Relish where we absolutely enjoyed our burgers.  We ended the afternoon at Swamp Head Brewery trying a few of their new beers, including a beet beer that tasted like dirt. Thankfully, the rest were a lot better. I was happy to see that they still had the Tom Petty namesake beer “Among the Wildflowers”, and we brought a six pack home for another time. Tonight we were back at home watching more IU men’s soccer and the U.S. Open.

Our Labor Day weekend was different from those that we had enjoyed in the past with our family. On Thursday, I was a little bit sad thinking about that. After talking to all of them and hearing about their wonderful weekends, I started to realize just how incredibly lucky we all really were. Whether we were all together in Bloomington, or were calling each other from places of adventure, each one of us had had a lot of fun and we still found ways to include each other.