Tuesdays

Tuesday does usually turn out to be better than Monday and this week that was the case.  It was still very busy, but there was no early morning meeting, so I could get a couple of things done at school before students arrived.  I figured out how to solve the students' pajama pants problems and one was even able to finish a pair.  We are making progress in math.  That is always a good feeling.

I had a doctor's appointment after school that also went well.  Cameron started tennis lesson tonight at the racquet club.  He had a great time even though there were twice as many students.  Last night Cal organized a team for capture the flag.  They finished in the top four, so he was happy with that.  It was a co-ed team.  They were all dressed in matching blues and jean shorts.  Tonight he was part of the cheer block that helped the volleyball team to victory in an exciting five set match.  By the time the evening ended I forgot that there had even been a Monday this week.

Mondays

Mondays are such a tough day.  It is hard to get out of bed after a great weekend.  Even though I had three days off because of Cal's wisdom teeth, it still didn't feel like enough.  We had an early morning meeting about test security today.  I am not sure that I could even pay attention through it.  There was an issue with a student in the afternoon that was deeply concerning.  By the end of the evening I was pretty anxious.  Tomorrow will be another day, however.  I will try to get some sleep tonight and hope that Tuesday turns out to be better.

IU & Fall Break

This weekend was Brett's fall break.  Early in the semester I had offered to go and get him and bring him home.  Last year he thought fall break was a little boring.  This year, however, he said he was fine and didn't need to come home.  We talked to him several times during the weekend.  He started on some of his Christmas shopping and tried a new restaurant for lunch.  He was also able to get a lot of homework done, tests studied for and Netflix watched.  Today he attended a showing of the original Godzilla movie at the IU cinema.  I don't know if he liked that the best or the fact that he talked the head of the board of Governors into revoting on the "peeing in the shower campaign" by the environment committee.

I am so proud of Brett.  This weekend showed me just how much he has taken to the life he has created.  He enjoyed talking to us, but didn't need us to entertain him.  He had a lot of plans for the weekend and enjoyed the small break from school.  What a great year he is having.

Free Time

This is the first Saturday that we have all been home with no commitments in quite awhile.  It sure felt great.  Doug used the time to catch up on the yard work that he hadn't been able to get to.  I did laundry and worked on bills.  I actually had some time to read and started a new book - "Disasters and Mistakes" in history.  I can't remember the last time I read a book.  It felt awesome to get one started.

Cameron had Evan over for a good portion of the day.  I took Meg, Evan and Cameron to Fashion Farm.  We all enjoyed the pumpkins, mazes and hay ride.  They each picked out a pumpkin to take home.  Meg's was over 30 pounds.

After dinner Meg went over to Brooklyn and Avery's to hang out.  They have planned their Halloween costumes for the year - Star Wars characters.  Meg is Princess Leia and Cam is Obi Wan Kenobi.  They also spent quite a bit of time on SnapChat.  Cam worked on his candy bar puzzle.

Alex was over for part of the afternoon watching football with Cal.  Doug made potato soup and they all enjoyed that.  Alex had to leave for a commitment.  Cal took it easy the rest of the day.  His mouth is a little sore.  He started the antibiotic mouthwash today and so far his cheeks have not become swollen.

Tonight Cameron asked my Mom and Dad to come over to play cards.  We played Pit, Up You Yinny and Five Second Rule.  Everyone had a lot of fun.  We don't get a lot of weekends at home and we sure enjoyed this one.

Out of Here

This summer the dentist informed us that Cal would need his wisdom teeth out.  I was a little surprised by the news as he has never complained about them.  They said he would need them out soon, but it was not an emergency.  Their thought was that we could do it over Christmas break.  Cal was sceptical about it.  Since they didn't bother him he felt that they could stay in.  I was more worried about when we could schedule it and how much recovery it would take.  Since Cal participates in three sports it is challenging to schedule dentist and doctor appointments.  We knew Christmas break would never work if he played basketball and fall break is football sectionals and he will want to be at that.  

Thus, we decided today was the day.  Cal was in between sports, the football game was in Elkhart, and he would have enough time to recover before basketball practice officially started.  Cal didn't want to miss strength training so I chose the 10:15 a.m. slot.  He couldn't eat or drink after midnight, but he doesn't do much of either in the morning, so that didn't worry me.  Everything was set until last night.  I started having second thoughts - "maybe he will be out longer than the three days they said, maybe he would have an adverse reaction to the anesthesia, maybe I should wait until summer to have him do it . . . "  Doug talked me out of being anxious and rescheduling, so Cal, my Mom and I were at the oral surgeon's at 10:15 this morning as planned.

I had to sign a lot of paperwork and they had to check his blood pressure and fill out a health survey with him.  My favorite was when the nurse asked him if he smoked.  He said, "Yes!" in a dead serious voice.  The procedure went very well and within 20 minutes they had called us back to the recovery room.  The teeth were impacted, so I am glad that I didn't change his appointment.  They needed to come out and would have only gotten worse.  When we saw Cal he had ice packs on his cheeks and wasn't wanting to wake up.  We kept talking to him and within fifteen minutes he was sitting up ready to go.  

I was impressed with how well he did, but I guess it doesn't surprise me.  He is used to doctors, surgeries, injuries and pain.  It didn't really slow him down much.  The worst part for him was the gauze that we kept having to change.  Once that was over he was more than ready to move on to the next activity on his agenda.  The doctor said no to going back to school, but he said if he felt like it Cal could go the football game tonight if he didn't drive.  I wonder if when the doctor said that he figured there was no way Cal would want to go, but of course he did.  I decided not to worry about him.  I gave him all of the instructions for what he could and could not do.  I know he doesn't want to go back and will follow the instructions.  

Thus, Doug took him to Jeremy's at 6 p.m. for the hour drive.  He had just taken pain medication and took Ibuprofen for when it wore off.  According to everyone who saw him at the game you would have never know that he had surgery earlier in that day.  Cal lead the cheer block and looked like he always does at the games - full of school spirit.  He said his mouth was sore when he got back, but not enough to slow him down.  Cal is definitely one of the toughest people I know.  He gets it honestly as Doug is tough as nails.  It takes a lot to knock them down, but very little keeps them down.  It is a great trait to have.   

Spell Bowl

When the school announced that they would be having a Spell Bowl team Meg was the first one to sign up.  I was glad that she chose to be a part of it.  Brett and Cal had both been on academic super bowl teams in middle school, but Milford has never had one.  Meg was able to talk Jacob and Jared into being a part of the team as well, so she had a fun group to work with.  They met several times a week and Meg felt prepared.

The competition was tonight at Edgewood.  Meg's team started off strong as they were tied for first after the second round.  Unfortunately, they started to slide after that.  The first two spellers earned twelve points for their team.  The next five only managed to spell eight words right total.  As Meg started the final round her team was in last.  Meg pulled them out of the basement, however, spelling seven of her nine words correctly and moving them into 4th place.

It did not matter to me if they won tonight or not.  I was so proud of all of the students for competing.  Academics seem to take a backseat to sports.  It was nice to have something that promotes education.  I am especially proud of Meg.  She took her role as team leader seriously and was able to be an important part of her squad.  

Bunk's Birthday

Today is October 8th and Bunk's Birthday.  Every year on this day the Heinisch children and I find some type of keepsake gift for my Mom.  This year's gift was found several weeks ago at Yankee Candle.  Meg pointed it out first and Cameron and I just loved it.    It was a spoof of the "Hear No Evil . . ." monkey statues that were popular years ago.  Instead of monkeys there were four skeletons each with a different saying.  Meg and Cam decided that Brett was "Speak No Evil" as he never swears.  Cam was "Hear No Evil" as he doesn't always hear us talking to him.  Meg was the "See No Evil" because of her eye.  Their favorite skeleton sibling, however, was the last one that they named Cal.  He held a sign that said "Have No Fun!"

My Mom loved the gift and our remembrance of Bunk's birthday.  Cal instantly protested when he saw it, stating that "he is more fun than the rest of us combined."  It will look nice on my Mom's mantle and matches the skeletons that we purchased from Yankee Candle years ago.  This day is always bittersweet.  My brother would have been 51 years old - "life is a blink of an eye."