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.  

Dinner with Cal & Meg, Packing and Resting

I was happy to have spent the day in Chicago yesterday.  I was able to help Nick and Meg get a lot of packing done.  I focused mostly on the breakables - glass chickens, cows and artwork.  I also sorted through all of the desk items and got them boxed up as well. 

In the evening, Cal, Meg and I went to dinner at Paradise Park.  I absolutely love that restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed talking to my two “middle” children.  They had a lot to share, especially with Meg’s upcoming move and Cal and Maggie’s recent one to Lincoln Park.  It was nice to know that they were each very happy.  We stayed long enough for them to have a second drink before heading back to Meg’s apartment.  Nick had been at RCIA, so he met us there afterward where we did some more packing and listened to vinyls.  

This morning, I left for Syracuse, stopping at a few stores along the way.  I was thankful to see my parents, enjoyed lunch at Chubbie’s on tenderloin day, and rest while watching some of our favorite game shows including a new one or two.  I also appreciated the day of rest.  I was absolutely exhausted from all of the traveling and packing.  An evening in the easy chair was exactly what I needed.  

Memory Keeper No More

 Last week, Meg and Nick had dinner with Dan and his family. They enjoyed seeing them one last time before moving to Florida.  As an added bonus, they were able to pick up the items that Phil and Doug wanted to keep from the boxes that Dan had cleared out of Carl’s condo.  I was glad that they were able to get them for us, but wasn’t prepared for how much there was for me to sort through.  I started last night and was pretty frustrated when I went to bed.

I would like to say that I felt a lot better about everything today, but in the end, I didn’t.  I had spent a lot of time downsizing over the past few years.  Thus, I thought that many of the items that were being kept were ridiculous.  I was surprised by how upset I got today, but I believe I reacted that way because I realized from sorting through those boxes that Carl valued those possessions more than he did our family.  There were very few pictures or memories of us or of his children when they were younger.  His note that his great grandchildren would love all of the artwork and hearing about his life in the peace corp represented an overinflated opinion of himself.  My children would never be interested in artwork from a grandfather that did not pay any attention to them or support them while they were growing up.  I know that would have meant a lot more to them than a few pieces of artwork from a time period before their father was even born.  

Even with my negative feelings, I did carefully repack everything into two boxes for Meg to bring to her dad in a few weeks.   I understood why Doug wanted to keep some of the Nigerian art work as it had been a part of his life since he was a child.  I remembered him showing it all to me the first time I visited his home in DeKalb.  If he had been with me, I believe that we could have sorted through it all and downsized some of it before bringing it to Florida.

The amount of items that Phil wanted to keep were another story.  They were heavy, bulky and for the most part not of any importance.  Bank certificates from the 1970s and duplicate pictures of trips that none of us went on weren’t necessary, but he insisted on keeping them.  I was annoyed as I had to drag them around for the week so that Doug could bring them back to Ocala next weekend.  One Illini yearbook alone  was over 5 pounds.  Since no one in the Heinisch family was famous and there wasn’t going to be a museum in their honor, I really did not want to keep everything as I had learned from Father Mike last year that very few of us would be remembered in 100 years, so keeping all of our possessions wasn’t important.  Living a good Christian life was.  Phil did promise to store all of the items himself if we got them to him, and also agreed to buying me a bottle of cherry vodka for my troubles.  I didn’t stop complaining about it after I heard that, but it did help.  Either way, after this week, I  am officially retiring as memory keeper of unwanted items.   

Visiting Paula and Gabrielle

While Meg and I were driving home from Karen’s shower, Brett and Nick spent the evening hanging out at a new brewery in Bloomington, Heartworks.  I stopped by to pick them up after dropping Meg off downtown to meet Mallory.  Once we got back to Brett’s apartment, he and Nick decided to spend the evening playing a video game.  With Cameron busy as well, I used the time to rest, watch Chicago Med and work on the computer.  I had really enjoyed yesterday and today, but was completely exhausted by all of the activity.

This morning, Brett and I worked on a moving plan.  It included a list of items to be donated, moved or thrown away.  Doug agreed to help next Friday when he was up.  Brett and I both felt very good about what we accomplished.  Cameron stopped by this morning to see Meg and Nick before we left and by noon, the three of us were heading to Indy to visit Paula and Gabrielle.

Paula and Gabrielle had unpacked quite a bit since I last visited in September.  Everything looked great and we all enjoyed the meal that they had brought in for lunch.  The best part of the afternoon, however, was catching up with the two of them.  Paula filled us in on her work, Alex’s wedding plans and her recent plans with friends.  Gabrielle talked about her latest adventures including applying to grad school at IU’s anthropology department and her weekend back in Syracuse.  The four hours that we were there flew by quickly. I was so very happy to see both of them and couldn’t wait to visit with them again.  

Karen's Shower

Meg and I attended Karen’s shower this afternoon in New Albany and had a fantastic time.  It was hosted by her maid of honor, Evonne, at the home of the mentor couple for Brett and Karen.  We also met Karen’s mother, Jean, and several of her other bridesmaids.  Everyone was very nice and extremely supportive of Karen.  

Besides meeting everyone, Meg and I also enjoyed the theme of the shower - a Jane Austen tea.  It was beautifully decorated and the games were a lot of fun.  Meg finished second place in the “Do you know Karen game” with a little help from Brett, and our team won the Jane Austen trivia game.  

Karen received a lot of wonderful gifts that were on her register and a few that weren’t.  Grandma Jane sent a waffle maker for the couple as Brett had really wanted one, and the Barnhart family gave them a gift card to Target as well.  I was extremely proud of the “Showering Karen with Advice” book that our family put together for Karen.  It provided her with the answer to “How do you know Brett?” plus date night suggestions, Marriage Advice, and a favorite memory of Brett along with a recipe to try.  Meg made Karen a memory box that she also enjoyed very much.  Overall, it was a wonderful day and Meg and I were extremely happy to be a part of it.