Season Ending Injury

On Saturday one of Doug's varsity players and Meg's friend broke her collar bone in the Culver game.  Meg was right by her when she went down, and she felt horrible listening to Meghan scream.  Mom, Cam and I were sitting near the injury and witnessed it happen.  The trainer was sure it was only sprained, but I was positive it was broken.  I am bummed that I was right.

The injury bothered Meg a lot.  She not only felt bad, but it made her more nervous about playing.  As a forward she is in constant contact with fullbacks that are in general bigger and older than she is.  The girls played Concordia tonight and Meg did well although maybe just a little more cautious than normal.  Meghan was there to cheer on her team, sling and all.  The girls played hard, but lost in the end.  There were no serious injuries tonight, however, which was a blessing.

A Beautiful Day For a Walk

After Cam got back from religion Doug and I spent a good portion of the early afternoon getting everything that needed done around the house finished before the week started.  We had a goal of completing the tasks by 3 so we could take a walk together.  I love walking and appreciate Doug taking the time to go with me.  It was a beautiful day for it and we were able to get in about 40 minutes before Meg got back from Kaitlin's church.  

Once we got back we all went to Goshen.  We have an extra Wii and TV now and wanted to get a power cord and sensor bar so Meg can use it in her room.  The Wii doesn't read discs but Meg will be able to connect to Netflix on a television instead of her phone.  After we found what we needed we stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner.  It was crowded, but we were still able to get a table.  Meg had homework to do once she got home, but was finished before it was too late.  

I would love to take a walk everyday like the one today, but soccer and tennis keep us very busy through the week.  Mary gets up at 5 and goes in the morning, but I just don't sleep well enough to do that yet.  Maybe one day I'll get there.  Until then I will enjoy the times that I can make it out.  

A Step Into Adulthood

Cal left this morning for Cedar Point with Hannah Marie, Stephen and Aubrey.  Hannah Marie's parents had tickets for all of them to get into the park for free including themselves.  Stephen had football this morning, so they had to leave a little later.  Thus, Cal asked if he could drive Doug's car up and meet her parents up there.  I decided that I would step out and let Doug make the decision.  The other Heinisch children felt Cal was a good enough driver to take on the task.  Doug's only worry was the drive back.  He told Cal he had to leave by 9 p.m. as he would be tired after a long day.  Cal agreed and followed all of Doug's rules.  He texted us when he got there and when he left.  He stayed on the interstate and was home by 12:30 a.m.  I was nervous the whole time, but Cal is growing up.  At the same age Doug drove into Chicago on his own, so he knew Cal could do it.  Nevertheless I was thrilled when I heard the door open and knew he was back safe and sound.

We didn't sit around and worry all day long.  Meg had a Varsity and JV game today against Culver.  Meg passed very well and looked great.  Culver, however, is one good soccer team and won 5-0 in Varsity and 3-0 JV.  Cam, Mom and I sat through all of the Varsity and the first half of JV when Meg plays.  It was one cold day - windy and cool.  After the game Cam and Meg went to Mom's for dinner and then Meg spent the night at Kaitlyn's.  She is going to church with her tomorrow and then to youth group.  Our church is not going to have a high school program this year.  Doug and I went to Chop's for dinner.  We weren't sure we were going to be able to because of how late Culver arrived, but we made our 7:30 reservations.  It was very nice to go as Doug has been very busy lately and we have had tennis or soccer almost every night of the week.  We were back by 10:15 to pick up Cam.  He had a great time playing "National Park" Monopoly with Grandma and Grandpa even though he "stepped on a cactus and lost a $100."  

Friday Night Lights

Doug and the soccer team had to work the high school football concessions tonight.  Meg had a lot of fun making popcorn with Hope.  She got there early to visit with her non-soccer friends before her shift started.  I hate that Doug had to be gone on a Friday night.  He had already given up every Saturday since the first week of August and worked the BINGO, pancake breakfast and Kiwanis triathlon for soccer.  Plus he devotes six nights/days a week to practices and games.  I am not sure that the parents and players always appreciate the amount of time he devotes to the team.  I guess that is part of being a coach.

I stayed home with Cam.  He invited Ryden and Chance over.  The boys had a great time playing hide n' seek, ghost in the graveyard, and spin disc golf.  Ryden wasn't able to spend the night, but Chance did.  I used the time when they were playing to get the laundry going, clean Cal's room and pay bills.  I was pretty tired from a busy week, so I was definitely ok with a low key evening.  The game was over early.  Cal and Hannah Marie were here for a little bit before she had to go home.  Meg hung out with Cam and his friends until Ryden left.  Overall, everyone seemed happy with the night even though WHS lost by quite a bit.

Senior Night

Tonight was senior night and except for the fact that Northridge was very late all went extremely well.  Cal was announced along with the rest of the seniors.  We loved his plans after college - "work at the Sleepy Owl until I die."  He received a gift bag with treats and a Subway card and we got to stand up with him.

Doug took the day off of practice so he could participate as well.  I was very glad that he was able to do that.  My parents, Meg and Cam were there as well.  We were all treated to one of the most entertaining matches of the year as Cal won in three sets over an opponent who made some very questionable calls.  He also tried to out intense Cal, but I knew that would never work.  I think the Northridge player figured that out as well when Cal yelled "Let's Go!" louder than I have ever heard mocking his opponent.

Cal was the only winner of the night and his team celebrated well.  We bought Pizza Hut for the boys and a wonderful cake from Lance's.  There was just enough leftover Pizza and cake for the rest of us to enjoy once we got home.  I was so proud of Cal tonight and thrilled to be a part of senior night.  It has been one fun season to watch.

Offsides

Tonight Cam and I watched the girls soccer game from the tennis tower.  Cal had a match to finish with Fairfield which he easily won in two sets.  We decided then to decorate for senior night.  It took us all of the Varsity game to get the streamers around the fence of the tower, but we were able to watch while we were decorating.  By the end of the game Doug's girls had won 2-0 and the tower looked fantastic.  Meg had an awesome pass that led off the first score and then recorded an assist with the second goal.  She did score the third goal, but the ref called her offsides.  Meg insisted she was not, but it didn't matter as the ref won that call.

Not only was it a great night in the Heinisch home it was also my Grandpa's birthday.  It's hard for me to believe that it has been eight years since he died.  There are times I still think that he is in Florida waiting for us to visit.  I remember all of his words of advice and enjoyed the fact that this weekend IU won at football and Purdue lost.  The part I miss about him most are his stories.  Parce and I were talking about him this past weekend when we were discussing his nephew Gene son of Grandpa's brother Gene.  Time has made the loss a little less painful, but I still miss him a lot.  Cam, Doug and I feed the squirrels in his memory.  I am positive that he still keeps track of all that we are doing.  I hope we have made him proud.

Olympia

This place is awesome, Mom, we need to come back.  Those were Cam's words as we left Olympia Candy Kitchen in Goshen.  It had been years since I had been there and we decided to try it when we found out that The Chief was closed for the season.  The ice cream was delicious and I had a lot of fun taking Cameron there.  We even made a trek to the hidden bathroom in the basement which was an adventure on its own winding through the kitchen and storeroom.  We bought half a pound of sour gummy bears to snack on at Cal's tennis match.

Goshen plays their high school matches at the middle school and it was a zoo in the parking lot with construction, a football game and tennis all on the same night.  We had a great time watching Cal play once again.  His opponent was the best we have seen him play this year.  Cal won a great first set and then fell in the second.  Most of his teammates had already lost by the time his third set started, so they were all there to watch.  Cal started slow in the third, but was on a nice run when the wind picked up and the rain came down.  He was serving at Ad-In down 4-1 when Goshen called it.  Cal has to go back on Friday night to finish it out.  Vince feels he will win as he will come out fresh, competitive and ready.  He has definitely been playing well and it has been so much fun to watch.