Visiting Northern Indiana

Since Cameron couldn't come down after he finished the semester, he decided he would go back to Northern Indiana, visit grandma and grandpa and see a couple of his friends from Goshen. He left on Sunday afternoon with the hope of making it to Syracuse in time for Mother’s Day dinner. He did make it in time, but not without a little bit of a hiccup. As soon as he got to I-465 in Indianapolis, his check engine light, tire light, and TPS light came on in the van. He called and asked me what I thought he should do. I suggested driving through the city instead of staying on the busy interstate. That way if there was a car problem, he could quickly get to a gas station. Cameron tried my route and thankfully, made it without any issue and enjoyed a nice evening with grandma and grandpa. Today, we found out that our worries about the van dying were all for nothing. One of the sensors had gone out on the tire lights, and it was causing the dashboard to light up. That was welcome news to all of us since we weren’t quite ready to let go of the 2012 Honda Odyssey. Now that it had crossed 230,000 miles, we were hoping that it could make it to 240,000.

Besides visiting grandma and grandpa, going out to dinner, and playing a lot of buck Euchre, Cameron was also able to play golf multiple times with Keagan, watch Bethany‘s match against Wawasee at Maxwelton, and hang out with Tristen who had just finished his freshman year at Goshen College. Cameron was extremely happy with his trip, and I was glad that he took the time to go before he left for Greece. Hopefully, he can return to sometime in June for another visit, but if not, he should have even more time in July. Since I know that he strongly prefers living in Bloomington to anywhere else in the world right now, I was happy that his visit went well and then he still enjoys many of the fun things that he did while growing up in Northern Indiana.

Charlie McCarthy

Growing up, my brother really wanted to be a ventriloquist. One year he asked for a Charlie McCarthy puppet for Christmas. I had seen the puppets in the JCPenney catalog, but I definitely didn’t feel the same way that he did about them. They never made any of my wish lists as I always thought they were a little bit creepy.

As I got older, I started watching scary movies and soon realized that I was not alone in my opinion that puppets were frightening. Even television shows, like Goosebumps, and the Twilight Zone featured puppets that were villains. I was glad to see that other people agreed with me and wasn’t surprised to find out that no one in my family liked puppets either.

Recently, my mom asked my children if any of them would like my brother's Charlie McCarthy puppet. Each one of them quickly said no as had Doug and I years ago. After deciding that no one wanted to keep him, we all started to brainstorm about what to do with Charlie. We talked about selling him at this summer‘s garage sale, but we honestly didn’t know if anyone would purchase him. I suggested throwing him away, but then Doug reminded me what happened to Tele Savalas' character in "Talking Tina" when he threw that doll away. I didn’t want a repeat of that Twilight Zone episode, so instead I suggested eBay. There were several other Charlie McCarthy dolls listed online. Maybe there was a market for my brothers as well.

After giving all of our ideas to my mom, she said that she should have just buried it with Bunk years ago. That made me realize that we should actually cremate Charlie McCarthy this summer, have a small service and spread his ashes at the cemetery. I told Cameron, Cal, Meg, Brett and Doug about it and they were all on board right away. My mom said it was a good idea but thought that she would just bury him there instead. I squashed that idea right away as I knew Charlie would come back to life and kill us all if we did that to him just like in the movies. No matter what happens it has been a lot of fun to think about as we downsize some of my childhood memories.

Mother's Day

Doug and I had decided to go to mass yesterday, so we could spend today enjoying Mother's Day.  Unfortunately, the weather had different plans for us.  We had gotten a really bad storm yesterday and another one was rolling through this morning cancelling our plans to go to Gainesville.  Even with the changes and the lingering discussion from last night, we still had a nice time together and I enjoyed my Mother's Day celebration very much.

The three of us decided that lunch would be first on our agenda.  Meg had not been to Cheddar's in a long time, so we tried there first.  The line was out the door, so we thought it was best not to wait.  After discussing several more options, I finally picked Milano's.  Meg had never been there, and I had enjoyed it the past few times that I had gone for Christmas parties.  Doug was a little bit skeptical as he remembered the Italian restaurant differently than I did.  We gave it a try anyway and were incredibly glad that we did.  

Since Milano's wasn't set to open until noon and it had started to pour, there wasn't much of a line to get in at 11:45 a.m.  Meg kept laughing that we were "rope dropping" an old person's restaurant for lunch.  It did work as we were quickly seated after they accommodated those with reservations first and were very pleased with the service, the food and the atmosphere.  Each one of us had a traditional pasta meal with my spaghetti and meatballs being just as delicious as the last time that I tried it, and we all had plenty of leftovers for dinner tonight.

Next on our list was a long walk at Shalom Park.  The weather was perfect for it and the sun started shining as soon as we arrived.  It was a fantastic afternoon which we finished by shopping at Heathbrook Square.  Once we got back home, I opened my gift from Cameron, REM's Life Rich Pageant, one of my favorite albums.  Brett's gift was set to arrive tomorrow, Meg had a birthstone bracelet that she was making for me and Cal had sent me a beautiful bouquet of tulips to enjoy this week. Those gifts along with the wonderful day that we had plus the new stone dishes that Doug gave me last week, made for one of the nicest Mother's days that I could remember.  

Unsolicited Opinions

Meg came out today and invited Phil over to visit for a little bit as she hadn't seen him since Christmas.  While everyone was talking, he told us that he supported Bill Belichick dating a 24-year-old. I stopped when he said it and asked if he thought about what he was saying. He went on to talk about money and looks and why people her age would date someone their grandfather’s age. I repeatedly stopped him and asked him to rethink his opinion, but he didn’t, and I ended up extremely mad. I wasn't upset about the age difference or the money, but about normalizing something that’s absolutely disgusting. I also didn't like having my opinion dismissed. I think that’s what bothered me most.

For years, I have had to listen to men talk about women. They judge their looks, comment on the weight, and point out their flaws. Even men that I have respected in my life, put these views out for others to hear like it was gospel. After 56 years, I have absolutely grown tired of it. I do not judge people on their looks and do not believe that others should either. I will never understand why a person would throw away their relationship with their family to date someone that could be their grandchild. Most importantly, however, I hate it when people believe that they can spot off their opinion but tell me that I am wrong for expressing mine.  Everyone has the right to make their own decisions, but no one is free of the consequences of making those decision.

Obviously, there was more going on inside of me than Bill Belichick's love life.  After a long time of being told to just to let other people talk and not take their opinion personally, I have grown tired of it all.  I have never understood why I had to be quiet if someone had a disgusting opinion that I did not agree with.  Why can’t I just say that? Why do they get to drone on about something completely offensive to me and I just have to smile and listen. That is how young women dating a 74-year-old becomes normalized in the first place. Thankfully, Doug has never said anything degrading about women.  I wish everyone would follow his example.  It would make the world a better place.  

What a Difference It has Made

A couple of months ago I started getting calls from tax collectors. At first, I just hung up and assumed that it was random spam. One caught me off guard, however, when they asked for Doug. Our phone numbers have never been the same and there wasn’t really a reason for them to ask specifically for Doug, so I questioned why they were calling me. They said that they understood that he was the CFO at Winco and that there had been a lien placed against the business for tax reasons. As a registered agent, Doug was listed as the contact. I listened to what the man had to say, before I explained that I was not involved with Winco at all and asked him to take me off of their call list.

Unfortunately, the calls did not stop. I still do not know how they got my phone number as no one was calling Doug, but in addition to mine, they also got Cameron and Brett’s. The phone calls along with the monthly letters from the state of South Dakota to Champion Manufacturing that I had to keep "returning to sender," I decided this week that I had finally had enough. I asked Doug to please call his former boss and tell them what was going on with the phone calls and I would call the state of South Dakota. I am not sure that he was able to make any progress with his phone call, but I did with mine. I explained that we were not part of Champion, but that I did have an address and a phone number if they would like to call who I thought was. I did not give out any personal information or say anything that I did not find out publicly, but it felt good to let someone know that we were no longer part of the drama of that company.

After I hung up, I realized that Doug may have to drive longer to work now, but the stress is so much less that neither one of us care at all. We have worked around it, and now that Meg lives close to Longwood, it gives us a great reason to visit her once a week. It is hard to believe sometimes that Doug has been with his new company for six months, but what a difference it has made.

Sophomore Year Comes to an End

Last night, Cameron took the last final of his sophomore year.  Although the class had been a relatively easy one, he still spent the last few days studying.  He texted as soon as it was over to let me know that all had gone well and that he was sure that he would end the semester with all A's, thus maintaining his 4.0 grade point average.

Doug and I were both very glad to hear that he had finished the year on a high note. Cameron had worked hard on his grades, and we weren't surprised to find out that he was celebrating on the golf course.  His sophomore year had not only been successful in the classroom but outside of it as well.  He had secured a highly sought after internship for his junior year, had worked as a teaching assistant and had been chosen to be a director of Student Athletic Board all while starting a new relationship with Cora and living on his own in his first apartment.  This summer should be a relaxing one filled with his study abroad trip to Greece, multiple of rounds of golf, trips to Florida, an SAB conference and starting his internship in the IU Athletics marking department.  We are excited to spend some of that time with him and to hear all about his new adventures.  

I Love a Rainy Night . . .

Tonight, I looked up into the sky and got really excited. For the first time in a long time, I actually saw rain clouds. They were thick and black and headed towards our home. I sent a picture of them to my mom with my fingers crossed that soon our drought ridden yard and thirsty plants would soon be soaked in rain drops.

Unfortunately, my hopes were quickly dashed as the rain clouds just kept floating by our home. I looked online later and saw that some parts of Ocala got rain and that there were storms south of us, but we still had empty rain gauges on our side of town by the time we went to bed. It has been so hot and so dry that we have had to water our plants almost every day. Even so, the tomato plant is wilted, and the hibiscus is looking sad. My sun patients have not fared very well this spring either.  I can’t believe I am saying this, but I am actually looking forward to the rainy season this summer. At least then I won’t worry about the yard accidentally catching on fire when we blow out our Tikis for the night. I guess, soon enough we will have rain and then I’ll be tired of it, but right now it sounds like a welcome relief.

Baldwin Park

Since Nick hadn’t returned from training yet, Meg asked Doug if he wanted to stay at her apartment tonight. It would really cut down on the drive for him and give her some company as well. Our dryer vent was getting cleaned out at our house today, so I wasn’t sure that I can join them, but thankfully they finished in plenty of time, and I was able to arrive around the same time as Doug.

Both of Doug and I were very impressed with how much Meg had gotten done this weekend. She rearranged the furniture and unpacked several more boxes as well. She would still need some help from Nick, especially when some of the new furniture arrived, but she felt really good about it all. She had also enjoyed exploring the area in the last few days as well.

Since there wasn't a lot for us to help Meg with, the three of us decided that we wanted to go to Baldwin Park tonight. We love how quaint it is and how close it is to Meg's apartment.  We also appreciate that there are a lot of different restaurants to choose from in the downtown area.  We stopped at several while we were out walking and finally chose a Mexican themed one on the lake. They even had seating outside so that we could enjoy the beautiful weather. We had a fun meal together and enjoyed listening to Meg talk about Nick coming home tomorrow. I couldn't wait to hear what he thought of Baldwin Park and his new home.  I don’t think that it has really dawned on any of us that Meg is a permanent resident of Florida now and not on vacation, but either way it sure is nice having her close by.

Nurses on Board

When we first found out that Maggie was a nurse, we asked her lots of questions about her job.  At the time she worked in a hospital on the obstetrics floor helping to deliver babies. It seemed like a lot of fun, although I know that there had to be times that it was very challenging, especially when the outcome was tragic.  Maggie has since found another nursing position that may not sound quite as exciting since it is on a surgical ward and doesn't involve babies, but we still like talking to her about it. Plus, the hours are a lot better, and she doesn’t have to work nights anymore which she and Cal really appreciate.  

Out of all the things that Maggie has told us about being a nurse, my favorite story is the one that she tells about her mother. Several times when there have been emergency situations near them, Maggie’s mom has yelled out, “It’s OK, my daughter’s nurse.” That isn’t quite what Maggie wanted said in those situations, and she explained to us that she was OK if we never yelled that out. Thus, when I saw this sticker on a car, I couldn’t help but take a quick picture. I thought it would make a great gift for Maggie as then everyone in the world would know that she was a nurse. Thankfully, she knew I was joking when I sent it to her and Cal this afternoon.

A Day of Rest

After traveling to the Midwest two out of the last three weeks, I was definitely glad for a day of rest. Of course, because it’s Doug and I, it wasn’t completely a day of rest.  After going to church and working the gift shop, he and I started rearranging the Piano room. We had brought back a rocking chair and a stackable bookcase from my mom's that we had had in our home and Syracuse. We wanted to make a place for it in Florida as I liked both pieces and they had been in Doug’s family for well over 100 years.

As soon as we started moving furniture around, we realize that the only way to make room for these two pieces was to get rid of the futon. Meg had slept on it when she moved down here last week and said that it was uncomfortable even with the mattress padding I bought to cover it. I checked with Cameron, and he said he would take it but he couldn’t fit it in his room so if we wanted to donate it, it was OK with him. I suggested that maybe Phil would like it as he did not have a couch and was surprised to hear that he actually did. Doug moved it into the garage to give to him later in the week, and we got said to rearranging the piano room. The focus became our record player, the piano, my sewing table, and the bookcase that I filled with craft supplies. I loved the outcome.

Next on our to do list was to sort through the boxes of Nigerian artwork that we brought back from Illinois. I had condensed the four boxes into two and Doug looked through those to see what would fit on the bookcase in his bedroom. We prioritized the pieces that he really liked from his childhood and put aside any that had nudity or references to slavery.  After sorting through everything and placing some of the items on the bookcase shelves, we realized that we would need to hang up some more shelves to fit it all. We finished up by storing the rest in a tub with Jeannette’s memorabilia along with the slides that Carl took from his time in the Peace Core and any information that he had with it. Eventually, we plan to contact someone from the local art museum to see if they can give us an estimate of value or explain any of the pieces to us. Overall, it looked a lot better than I thought it would, and I was glad that Doug finally had the Nigerian artwork to showcase.

 

Bonus Trip

While we were all busy in Orlando yesterday, Meg's dresser was delivered to our home.  Since she was just going to be hanging out at her apartment today, we offered to take it to her new home.  Our thought was that we would go to Epcot afterward for dinner as we didn't want to intrude on Meg's time.  Once we arrived, however, Meg asked us to stay and help for a little bit.  Doug started building a bookcase for her bedroom and I rode with her to Target to buy a few items that she still needed for her apartment.  It was nice to help out and to see all of the progress that she had made this week.  With Kyle's help, they had really gotten a lot done.

Since Doug and I were at Meg's longer than expected, we decided to forgo our trip to Disney World today.  Instead, we headed to one of our favorite places in Orlando to eat, Rock N Brews.  It was a lot closer to Meg's apartment complex and the food was delicious as always.  While we were there, we were also able to watch the Kentucky Derby.  Doug's always enjoyed the race, and it was very interesting this year as it had been raining all day long, so the track was very much, and there was a horse from Ocala entered.  Although that horse finished surprisingly well behind the winner, we still had fun watching just the same.  It was a great way to end our day in Orlando.

Moving In

Meg, Kyle and I left for Orlando just after breakfast today.  They arrived first to pick up the keys and were already parking the truck by the outside stairs leading up to her second-floor apartment when I arrived.  The next few hours were spent unloading the truck and unpacking some of the key items.  I wasn't great going up and down the stairs, so I offered to pick up the lunch that Meg ordered from Potbelly.  It also gave me some time to check out the area close to her new home.  There was a Target within a mile of their apartment and a shopping plaza with restaurants and several of her favorite stores. 

The afternoon went by quickly and soon Doug arrived after work.  He helped unload the last few pieces of the truck so that they could move the dining room chairs and tables from the Pilot into the apartment.  After working for a few more hours, we decided to check out downtown Baldwin Park and find a place for dinner.  We were extremely impressed with the area.  There was a CVS and a Publix plus a lot of other small shops all situated around a lake with a lot of activity.  There were multiple restaurants to choose from, and we found one that had a menu that everyone could enjoy.  We even got a table outside.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate Meg's first day in Orlando.

Road Trip

I was really worried that it would be hard to fall asleep last night with the excitement of Brett's blown tire, the loud fire alarm and sleeping on an air mattress.  Fortunately, I went right out and slept through the evening until 5:30 this morning when Kyle headed out the door.  Meg said that I could wake her up if I was ready earlier than our planned 6 a.m. wake up time.  She woke up easily, ordered her Starbucks and was on the road by 6:30 a.m.  I was very glad as I knew that if all went well, we would be in Atlanta before 4 p.m. which meant that we would miss rush hour.

I drove for the first three hours taking us through the easiest part of the trip - Southern Indiana, Kentucky and an hour of Tennessee.  Meg and I stopped in Nashville for a snack and a bathroom break.  It wasn't in the greatest area, but we had no issues and were thankful for the break.  Meg drove the rest of the way through Tennessee including Chattanooga.  I was thrilled that there wasn't any traffic, and Meg was glad that we finally caught up with Kyle.  

Georgia was long as usual, but we did have fun stopping at Buc-ee's for lunch.  Meg gave me a hard time about my road trip snack, but the pineapple was really good.  Once we cleared Atlanta, Meg switched to the Penske truck with Kyle.  He was ready for some company, and I was ok having some time on my own to listen to last night's Survivor and Amazing Race episodes and to check in with Doug.  The last five hours were long, and I was more than ready to get out of the car. Needless to say, I was very happy to make it home without any issues.  Doug and I had just enough time to unpack the CR-V before the truck pulled into the driveway.  We all then unpacked a few items from the truck that were going to stay at our home before eating Doug's delicious dinner.  The rest of the night was spent relaxing, thankful that for a safe road trip.

Next Stop Bloomington

I spent the morning repacking the CR-V so that we had room for both Meg and I plus a small tub of children's books that I wanted to take back to Ocala.  Everything fit perfectly and we were able to leave for Bloomington by noon.  Our first stop was Hacienda in Warsaw for lunch.  The food was delicious, and it was nice to revisit one of our favorite spots in Northern Indiana.  

We first stopped at Brett's apartment when we arrived in B-town.  He was still at work, but Cameron was available to hang out.  Meg had never seen his apartment and enjoyed the tour before we walked to Social Cantina for dinner.  It was a lot of fun catching up and hearing about Cameron's plans this summer and for his study abroad trip to Greece.  After dinner, Meg and Cameron took a long walk around campus while I picked up the van.  We dropped Cameron off at Cora's as they had a date to go bowling.  Meg and I left for Brett's apartment when he called to say that he was on his way home from School of Community in Indianapolis. 

A couple of minutes later Brett called back.  I could tell by his voice that something was wrong.  His tire had blown out as soon as he got on I-69 and he was stranded alongside the road.  Brett knew how to change a tire and had a spare, but it wasn't safe where he was to get out of his car without someone watching traffic for him.  I encouraged him to call the emergency line on for his insurance, while Meg called Kyle to see if he was close to where Brett was as we knew that the two of them together could fix the tire.  The bad news was that Kyle had already passed by the area and was close to Bloomington.  There was good news, however. The tow truck had actually called Brett and was only ten minutes away.  Neither one of us could believe it after his experience several years ago in a similar situation driving back from Illinois when he had to wait for several hours for help that never arrived.  Thankfully, this was not the case tonight and soon Brett was back at his apartment, eating dinner and talking about the pope and politics with Kyle while we all listened to the random fire alarm blaring from the garbage dumpster outside Brett's window.  It seemed fitting for the crazy night that we had had. 

Leaving Chicago

Doug dropped me off at the airport several hours before my flight to Chicago this morning.  I was thankful for the time to rest, relax and get a few things done before I left, especially since the next few days would be extremely busy.  While waiting, I even had time to book our nighttime kayak tour for our trip to the Keys in June.  The flight went very well.  I watched a few shows on the Southwest app and worked on my Blog as well.  The last half hour was a little bit bumpy, so I closed my eyes and pretended that I was riding Dinosaur in Animal Kingdom.

Meg picked me up at Midway and we headed straight to her apartment.  She was in the process of finishing packing and cleaning.  I started helping by taking the legs off of the table.  They had decided to dispose of it and take ours once they got to Orlando.  While we waited for our Chick-Fil-A to arrive, I cleaned, and Meg packed.  As soon as we finished eating, we started moving boxes downstairs.  I wasn't as much help as Doug would have been, but I did make ten trips up and down the stairs, plus packed the CR-V this afternoon.  

Meg and I were on the road well before 5 p.m.  When I first arrived, I don't think that either of us thought that we would make it out within five hours of me landing.  Needless to say, we were both thrilled to be on the road and didn't even mind the rush hour traffic.  Meg had been more than ready to leave Chicago, and I knew that I would never miss the three flights of steep stairs leading up to her apartment.  

The rest of our night was a lot easier.  We stopped by the Yoders to drop off several boxes to the truck.  We were ok riding that tightly for a two-hour trip, but not a twelve hour one.  Our next stop was Culvers in Goshen for dinner before heading to Grandma Jane's for the night.  She and Grandpa were waiting up for us and we enjoyed catching up with them and watching Switch before going to bed for a much-needed night of sleep.

Intramural Dodgeball and SAB

This week was the cumulation of two activities that Cameron had really enjoyed this semester.  The first occurred last night when he and his dodgeball team played in the championship game of the intramural league.  It had been a lot of fun listening to his stories about the games this season and of the tournament leading up to tonight.  I also appreciated that it gave us a reason these past few weeks to share quotes from one of our favorite family movies . . . "If you can dodge a ball, you can dodge a wrench" . . . "Dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge" . . . In the end, I was the happiest to see his post on Instagram announcing their championship win, and to hear the details of the game this morning.  After their upset win in the semi-finals, the 4-0 match last night was a little bit anti-climactic, but still fun to listen to just the same.

Tonight was the end year Student Athletic Board banquet.  Afterward, Cameron sent pictures of he, Cora and his roommate, Tyler, at Assembly Hall.  They all looked very nice, and I was very glad to hear that they had enjoyed their evening.  Even though Cameron has been a part of SAB for the past two years, I am still always surprised when he sends pictures from inside Assembly Hall or from the field of Memorial Stadium.  They are both such sacred places to Doug and I as IU Athletics was an extremely important part of Doug and my life in college.  I am really looking forward to seeing all that Cameron does as an IU athletic marketing intern next year.  I am sure that it will be even more amazing.

Packing the Truck

Meg sent pictures today of all of the items that they had already packed and put into the moving truck. There definitely was a lot of room left since they got a sixteen-foot truck for the price of a twelve due to a mix-up on Penske's part. I was glad to hear that Kyle had come up to help, and that they hired someone off of task rabbit to load boxes and furniture as well. I was very happy to see that Meg was able to fit her Papasan chair in the truck. She had had that chair since elementary school and just didn’t really want to part ways with it unless she absolutely had to leave it behind. I was also happy to hear that they would not only have room for Doug's Nigerian artwork but also the bookcase and rocking chair that we still had stored at Grandma Jane's.

Once all of the items got packed in the truck, the Yoder family went out to lunch and rested before Kyle and Nancy drove back to Jimtown. My parents made plans to meet them tomorrow night with our furniture and a few of Meg's tubs that would fit into the truck now as well. I was still a little anxious about how I would be able to handle the road trip, but Meg was positive that it would be a fun adventure for all. 

Heathbrook Square

When Doug asked me to come visit Ocala for the first time, one of the places that the people at his work suggested we try was Crazy Cucumber at Heath Brook Square. I remember pulling into the shopping center back then and being completely overwhelmed. It wasn’t just how big the area was, but the thought of moving to a place where I knew no one and was hundred miles away from all of my children. I think I even cried during dinner that night. 

Fast forward to this weekend when Doug and I spent an entire day at Heath Brook Square and had a fantastic time. We didn’t eat at Crazy Cucumber, but we did have lunch at The Great Greek. We also went shopping at Home Goods where we picked out some fun new items for the house. We saw the movie, The Amateur, that we both absolutely loved even though we had to sit in the front row of the theater.  Before we left, Doug found a new book from Barnes & Noble as well. It was incredibly nice to not have to drive very far for such an entertaining afternoon.

The other thing that is really nice to know now is that the distance hasn't changed my relationship with our children at all. I still hear from each one of them almost every day.  I see at least one of them every month like I planned when we moved.  I am so grateful that we have adapted to life in Ocala.  We have a wonderful church and new friends as well. Florida has made for a great place for our children to visit as well, since there are always a lot of activities for them while they’re here. Hopefully, Meg and Nick enjoy Florida as much as we do. Either way, it’s been a lot of fun and I’m glad we took the risk.

My Cherry Vodka Reward

 Well, today I finally got my reward for bringing back all of the Carl Heinisch family memories.  Phil brought over a bottle of Cherry Vodka for my hard work.  I am not sure that it was a fair trade off knowing that we had to transport fifty pounds of items back on the plane.  The two suitcases full also left no room for the Nigerian artwork that Doug wanted and actually had some value.  I was also disappointed to hear that Phil just left the box in his car instead of storing the items properly.  I decided not to get mad and just enjoy my reward tonight celebrating the last time that I ever sort through any of the extended Heinisch family's memories.

Wednesday Night Television

When Doug and I was growing up, Thursday was our favorite TV night.  The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Friends and Law & Order were just a few staples featured.  As the popularity of those shows waned, keeping Thursday night open became less of a priority.  Since that time period, there really hasn't been an evening dedicated to watching television for Doug and I.  We both have had shows that we enjoyed as did our children, but none that had to be watched in real time.  Instead, we could tape them or add them to our digital iCloud to watch later.  

All of that changed over the past two years.  The first night that we started to keep open was Tuesdays, but that was just for Dancing with the Stars.  We both enjoyed watching that together, but it was only for a few months.  Once it was over, we talked about trying to continue our Tuesday night ritual by watching past season of DWTS.  Neither one of us were extremely excited about that.  We then tried Modern family, but it was only a half hour comedy and after a couple of episodes we would be ready to watch something else.  

In the end, Doug and I finally found shows that we both liked, looked forward to and could continue our "TV night" ritual with albeit on Wednesday instead of Thursday.  Now, we have both have a lot of fun watching Survivor and Amazing Race together, and as an added bonus, it has given us something to talk about later in the week as well.  Doug hasn't quite caught on to my enthusiasm for Chicago Fire or Chicago PD which air on Wednesday night as well, but that's ok.  I can always watch them on my own later.  

A Change of Moving Plans

Nick called yesterday with a dilemma.  He had been on furlough awaiting an opening for a class that would allow him to be certified to fly another plane.  He had been told that the class would start in May just after he and Meg moved to Florida.  That worked perfectly in their timeline, and he was excited to get back to flying full time.  Unfortunately, the class that he thought he would be taking wasn't available, and the one that was offered in June only had room on the waitlist.  For a while it looked like he was going to have to wait until July.  That meant that Nick would be on half pay for two more months and there was a possibility that the company would not wait until then for him to return meaning that he would have to find another job.

Thankfully, there was a solution. Nick could sign up for a class that would start April 28th, but then he wouldn't be available to help move.  He wondered what Doug and I thought.  After some discussion, we called him back to let him know that we believed that he should sign up for the class and that we would help Meg move down.  Once that was decided, Doug and I started talking about which one of us would make the trip.  We knew that it would be easier for Doug to travel and help physically with the move.  The problem was that he didn't have a lot of vacation days left before October 1st and his appointment to remove his stitches was already scheduled for the day that he would be gone.  Taking all of that into account, we decided that it was best for me to fly up and help, even though it would be physically harder for me.  The most important thing was for Meg to make it to Florida safely.  Therefore, I booked my flight last night and cancelled all plans that I had for next week.  It will be a challenge, but me being a part of the traveling party will be better than having no one else riding with Meg.

The Grandma Statues

When Dan cleaned out his dad's basement, we found the "Three Little Boys" statue that Jeanette had had on display since I first met Doug.  Although I never liked it and none of the boys seemed to want it, I agreed to keep it because I also had three boys.  I thought that I would put the statue that Jeanette carved years ago for me of a mother and daughter with it.  I wasn't overly excited about it as I always found the boys a little creepy looking, but I knew that they had meant a lot to Jeanette and would keep them for that reason.

As I was sorting through the seven boxes that Dan gave Meg for our family and Phil, I decided that I actually did not want to keep the three boys.  We had already committed to displaying the Nigerian artwork and I had a lot of Jeanette's items already, I didn't want any more, especially something that I didn't really like.  I asked Meg and Doug what they thought and neither had a desire for our family to have the boys.

After that conversation, I started researching the boys online.  I found out that the artist who created them was from Chicago and that he had made other statues as well.  None were the same as Jeanette's and all were valued around $45.  I decided that it made the most sense to sell them but decided to ask Grandma Jane what she thought first.  She took one look at the boys and instantly fell in love with them.  She said that they didn't look like Brett, Cal and Meg, but reminded her of them.  I asked her if she would like them as they would look very nice in her home.  She was hesitant at first since there wasn't a sister.  I suggested getting her one for Mother's Day to match the boys and started looking on Ebay right away.  We found one the perfect one.  The little girl even had her arms crossed which made me laugh as I distinctly remembered a few incidents when Meg gave that look to her brothers.

I bought the little sister for Grandma Jane, and it arrived this week.  I loved the photo that my mom sent out of her four "grandchildren."  I still didn't find them overly cute, but the thought that she could now enjoy something that Jeanette cherished made it extra special.  I sent a picture to Dan, Kim and Phil right away and they were also glad to see that the boys had found a new home with a sister to join them. 

My Travel Timeline

I was extremely tired last night when we arrived home.  Thus, I was very happy to sleep in my own bed.  I had a lot to unpack and laundry to do today but decided that I would take it slow getting everything done.  As I worked around the house today, I thought a lot about my schedule in the Midwest.  After writing it all down, I could see why I had so much fun and also why I was absolutely exhausted.   

Travel Timeline

                Friday - Fly to Indy - Hang out with Brett and Cameron.  Work on wedding plans.

                Saturday - Travel with Meg to New Albany for Karen's shower.

                Sunday - Visit Paula and Gabrielle with Meg and Nick.  Travel to Chicago. Work on                                             packing.

                Monday - Help pack.  Pick up rental car.  Dinner with Cal and Meg.

                Tuesday - Drive to Syracuse. Lunch at Chubbie's.

                Wednesday - Clean out closets. Dinner with Mary and Ken.

                Thursday - Visit Parce and Aunt Gena in Greensburg.  Drive to Bloomington to pick

                                        up Brett.  Pick up Doug at Indy airport.

                Friday - Help Brett clean furniture out of his apartment.  Oliver Winery with Brett. 

                                    Meet Cora's parents with Cameron at Mother Bears.

                Saturday - Drive to Chicago.  Drop off rental car.  Tour Cal and Maggie's apartment.

                                    Lunch at RJ Grunt's.  Walk through Lincoln Park Zoo.  Dinner at Meg's.

                                    Nick's Confirmation.  Piano bar at the drake.

                Sunday - Breakfast at Cafe on Oak with Cal.  Fly to Orlando.  Drive home.

                

       

                

                

The Drake

Last night after Nick's communion, Doug and I found a piano bar at the Drake that we really enjoyed.  We were able to get a few snacks and drinks while listening to the piano man sing Frank Sinatra.  It was very nice.  This morning, we had an even more enjoyable experience at the historic hotel.  Cal met us for breakfast.  He loved the view from our room and the eggs benedict from Cafe on the Oak.  We had a wonderful time together and talked a lot about the comparisons of the Pfister hotel in Milwaukee that we all stayed at during Thanksgiving break to the one today.  While they were both over a hundred years old, the Pfister had a reputation for being the most haunted hotel in the United States and The Drake was most well-known for its famous visitors over the years including Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe.  Even the breakfast dish that Cal had this morning was named for them.  

After breakfast, Cal offered to take us back to his apartment for a little while, but we realized that it would be easier on him if he took us to the airport a little bit earlier than our flight demanded.  Maggie had been with her family to celebrate Easter, and we knew that they had plans this afternoon together.  The airport wasn't very busy except for a few volleyball and cheer teams waiting for flights to Orlando.  The time waiting went buy quickly and soon we were on our flight home.  I was sad to leave all of the Heinisch children in the Midwest, but after ten days of traveling, I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight and getting back to my quieter routine.  Soon Meg would be moving to Florida, and I wanted to be well rested for that.  

Confirmation

Doug and I had a fantastic day in Chicago.  We first went to Cal and Maggie's new apartment and absolutely loved it.  They live on the 43rd floor in a building overlooking Lincoln Park.  We could see Lake Michigan, the baseball fields and the Chicago History Museum.  It was roomy, organized and very nice. After our tour, we walked to RJ Grunts for lunch and then on to the zoo to see the lions.  They were all out which was very rare.  It was an awesome way to spend our afternoon with some great company.

Our next stop was The Drake where we had a reservation for the evening.  It was located on the Magnificent Mile and there was a lot of history with the hotel.  Queen Elizabeth had even taken tea in their cafe.  Once Doug and I enjoyed the view, rested and got ready for Nick's confirmation, we left for Meg's apartment.  She had planned a nice get together for everyone to celebrate Nick.  The food was wonderful, and I was completely impressed with how organized their place was as I knew they were still packing for their move.  Nancy and Kyle were already there, and Cal and Maggie joined us soon after our arrival.

Confirmation tonight was long, but very nice.  Nick and Meg's church was beautiful.  The ceremony was a little bit disorganized from what we were originally told, but wonderful just the same.  I had not been to a Saturday night mass on Easter weekend in almost thirty years and was thankful for the reminder of how important becoming Catholic was to my life.  I don't know if I completely understood that when I was confirmed in 1994, but I definitely did today and was proud to sponsor Nick as he became a member of the Church.  

Goodbye, Finally!!

Last Sunday, Brett and I made a detailed list to help him move.  I knew that we couldn’t be there, but hoped that the suggestions that I made would help.  We started with the large items and made four columns - trash, donate, move, store.  I felt good about it when we finished, but was worried about the large items, especially the couch and buffet.  There was no way that Brett could move those on his own and since he wasn’t planning on keeping them, it would be extremely helpful to get them out of the apartment before his friends showed up to help.

Thankfully, today Doug, Brett and I were able to make a large dent in the process.  Brett had called St. Vincent de Paul’s society in Bloomington to see which of his items that they would want.  He found out that they desperately needed lamps and dressers.  Brett had several of those, so Doug offered to help fill up the van and CR-V so that we could take them over.  They also said that they would take the buffet so the guys loaded that in the van as well.  It took a couple of trips, but by noon, we had everything to Brett’s favorite place to volunteer and were back at Brett’s apartment working on the furniture on the “trash” list.

The hardest part of the day came next.  After years of begging Brett to get rid of our old family couch that he had inherited when he was in grad school, he finally agreed.  It helped that Karen said that she absolutely did not want to have it in the new apartment. Doug was a little sad to see it go as it was his favorite place to sleep.  It was large, heavy and awkward, but after a half hour of trying he and Brett got it down the stairs, out the door and into the dumpster.  I was worried that it wouldn’t fit through the door, but Brett figured it out and in the end everyone was happy to see it go and celebrated with lunch at Upland Brewing Company with Cameron.

The rest of the day was a lot more relaxing.  Brett and Doug did some wine tasting at Oliver and beer tasting at Heart Works plus played a game of Ticket to Ride all before Brett left for Good Friday mass, and we went to dinner at Mother Bears with Cameron, Cora and her parents.  It was very nice to meet them and talk to another couple that had the same enthusiasm as we did for IU.  We ended the evening back at Brett’s relaxing while finally finishing the movie, Bullit County.  It was very good and I was glad that Brett had introduced it to me.  

Parce and Aunt Gena's New Place

On my way to Indianapolis to pick up Doug from his late-night flight, I stopped by to see Parce and Aunt Gena. They had moved to Greensburg last summer and had hoped that I would have time on this trip to stop by and see their new home. I had never been to the west side of the state and was looking forward to the adventure. I was surprised at how many country roads that I had to take as I thought that I would mainly be on I-69. I liked that, however, as it was a lot more scenic drive and was a great way to really see the area.

I made it to my destination around 5 p.m. and enjoyed my visit. Their home was built in the 1920s but had been remodeled in the 1950s. The woman who had lived in it before them was in her 90s and had been there for over 70 years.  Thus, there were a lot of changes that Parce and Gena wanted to make. I was impressed to see all of the work that they had done to bring the home into a modern-day age but still keep the integrity of its original time period. I also enjoyed catching up with them and listening to their thoughts on their new life in a small town. I even got to meet their three cats while I was there.

Doug’s flight was late, so I decided to go down to Brett’s from Greensburg before heading back up to Indy. We had just enough time to eat breadsticks and watch some more of Bullitt County before we left. Doug was very happy to see us when we arrived, and I think even more pleased to have a bag of breadsticks ready for him. It had been a long day of driving, but a fun one as well. Needless to say, I was more than ready for bed when we arrived back at Brett’s at 1 AM.

A Day of "Rest"

My day of rest in Syracuse turned into a very busy one.  As soon as I got up, I decided to clean out the closet in Cameron's bedroom at my parents.  We had stored a lot of items there before we moved in 2023 that we weren't ready to take with us or weren't willing to put in the garage sale pile yet.  As soon as I opened the doors today, I realized that my feelings had completely changed.  There were quite a few tubs that I thought that our family could part with and many of the toys that I had saved from my childhood days that needed to be donated or sold such as my Raggedy Ann collection.  

Once I downsized my things, I decided to contact all of the Heinisch children to see what they were willing to part with today.  I knew that my mom had plenty of room to keep our childhood toys, but it just didn't seem practical anymore.  I was happy that they all agreed with me.  Each one looked through the pictures that I had sent out and agreed to get rid of most of it this summer.  After putting their beloved items aside, I moved multiple tubs downstairs and reorganized the closet.  I couldn't believe the difference.  I also decided that I wouldn't need to downsize the closet again.  Everyone had picked the exact same items to keep that they originally told me to hang on to a few years ago - Cal's kept the Ninja Turtles and baseball helmets; Brett wanted the Weebles, Mr. Men and Burger King Star Wars toys; Meg asked me to hold onto the Barbie house and doll bed, while Cameron picked the army toys and toy horse he used for lassoing to be put back.  

The memory closet wasn't the only one that I cleaned out today.  I also went through the one storing all of the household items that someone might need down the road.  I found Meg's vacuum and my purple dishes which both got put into the "moving to Florida pile."  I then sorted through everything else, sent pictures out and once again moved quite a bit to the garage.  Needless to say, I was absolutely exhausted by lunchtime.  

Thankfully, today wasn't all about working.  I met Mary and Ken for an early dinner at the Channel Marker.  I enjoyed catching up with them.  I made it back in time to play Jeopardy against my dad and to watch the latest Chicago Fire and Chicago PD.  All of which made for a very relaxing evening after such a busy day.