Fun in the Sun

This morning was hectic, but Cam and I still managed to get out the door at 9 a.m. as planned.  Thankfully, I had 90% of what we needed packed yesterday and only had a few items to add this morning.   Meg had an appointment to get her bottom braces today and I had to drop off a package to the post office before we left as we sold another Sports Illustrated Michael Jordan magazine.  Fortunately, all went as planned and we were able to pick up my parents without any issues.  

The trip to Indianapolis was an easy one and we were on 67 by noon.  Grandpa and Cam decided that they wanted to eat lunch at Wendy's.  Our meal ended with a comedy of errors as Grandma disregarded the men's sign on the bathroom and was walking out as Cameron opened the door to enter.  Cal's presentation went well and his class ended early.  Thus, he and Brett met us about 20 minutes before I thought they would.  My parents drove the Civic back to Syracuse which I really appreciated.  The boys and I made it to the airport and into economy parking without any problems and were able to check into our flight almost two hours early.  Brett and Cal even had time to eat lunch before passing through security.   

Our flight was delayed a few minutes, but overall it went very well.  I had downloaded several episodes of The Sopranos to watch while Cam played games on the iPad as Brett and Cal read.  This was one of the smoothest flights I had been on in awhile and it landed early yet to boot.  The only small  glitch in our trip was the delay in the luggage return which almost made us miss our LYFT ride, but it all worked out in the end and we were at the hotel well before 7 p.m.

Tonight we walked to Universal's City Walk to eat dinner.  It wasn't too crowded but there were several private events going on which closed quite a few restaurants.  We put our name in at Margaritaville and then walked around to do some window shopping.  The food was great and we were glad to have waited.  We made it back to the Loews Royal Pacific in time to watch the second half of the IU game.  Everyone was excited to watch a Hoosier victory.  Before we went to bed I heard from both Doug and Meg.  He spent his evening painting the ceiling in the living room.  Meg had tennis and then had quite a bit of homework to finish as the last day of the quarter is tomorrow.  She was annoyed with a couple of her grades, but planned to meet with those teachers in the morning.    Her mouth was sore and she had a difficult time talking with her bite plate.  I felt bad, but realized that it was part of the process.  We ended the evening here watching Impractical Jokers excited about our day tomorrow.  

 

 

One Day More

Today I was able to get my 10,000 steps in just from doing the laundry and packing for our trip.  We won’t need a lot as we will only be in Orlando for four days, but overpacking has become the norm for me.  I also wanted to make sure that Doug and Meg had enough clean clothes until we get back.  

As we plan to meet Brett and Cal in Indy tomorrow I don't have to pack much for them as they took care of it themselves.  Thankfully, Brett didn’t mind me texting or calling him a dozen times or so today with tips and reminders.  Cal took his clothes for the suitcase over to his apartment tonight, so Brett could pack that.  He has a presentation in his last class tomorrow, so they couldn't leave early.  Brett will pick him up at Kelley as soon as it’s over giving them enough time to stop at Cal’s to pick up his laundry and golf clubs before they leave Bloomington.  

I feel guilty leaving Meg behind, but unfortunately her schedule just wouldn’t allow a trip to Florida at this time.  With the end of the quarter, tennis starting, and her orthodontist appointment it wasn’t meant to be.  She does have plans with Nick and some of her other friends.  That should be fun for her.  Doug will be home with her as well, so she can be at home when she wants to be.  Plus, soon we will be on our way to California for a weeklong trip to celebrate the end of her senior year.  With all of the sties that we plan to visit, it should be an awesome trip.  

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

One of my goals before leaving for Florida this week was to finish reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  Since I also wanted to complete our 2018 photo album before we left, I wasn't sure that I would be able to do both.  Thankfully, I had some time last week to finish the album and was finally able to devote my free time this weekend to reading.

This Harry Potter book was Brett's favorite.  After rereading it I can definitely see why that is true.  It brought so many beloved characters together and it answered many questions from the previous four books.  It also tied the past and present together as Harry got to know his parents better as he heard stories from those who loved them as well as those who loathed them.  Every Harry Potter fan disliked the Dursley's from the first chapter in the series.  The Order of the Phoenix finally let Harry and the reader in on the secret of why he had to spend the summers with his aunt, uncle and cousin.  The book also featured one of the meanest teachers in the history of education which most could relate to having at one time or another.

I was glad that I made time to read this week.  Although this book had a sad ending I was happy to have reread a favorite.  I plan to start The Women in White by Wilkie Collins while on vacation.  It was written in the 1860s and was revered as the one of the first mystery novels filled with twists and turns.  I hope that it is as good as the reviews that I have read about it.  

Life Turns on a Dime

If there was one thing that I learned from my brother's untimely death is that life can turn on a dime.  As Doug has told me over and over, "There are no guarantees."  This week with Meg has reminded me of that life fact.  Life can and does change in a heartbeat.  There are two choices to make when thinking about the future and a quote from one of my favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption, says it best "Get busy living or get busy dying."  With so many uncertainties in life the best approach may be to enjoy life at every possible moment.

I hope I remember this on Thursday day when I take my seat in the airplane on our way to Orlando.  Flying scares me more than anything else in life besides snakes.  There's really no reason for me to be scared.  I have flown dozens of times and have never had a problem.  In fact three millihon people fly everyday and with a few exceptions almost all reach their destination safely.  Thus, there's no reason to believe that I won't be one of those three million.  The reward of spending five days in Florida enjoying the warm weather and Universal Studios will be well worth the minimal risk.  As long as we are not reenacting "Snakes on a Plane" I should be just fine.

A Quiet Sunday

Cam went to bed early last evening.  His late night with Avery left him tired and he had to get up for religion this morning.  The rest of the day was a quiet one for him with his only real commitments being a haircut, vacuuming the vents and cleaning the pigs.  Grandma and Grandpa stopped by after dinner to talk about IU basketball with him.  He was still happy about the Hoosiers win yesterday.

Meg finally had a day to work on homework without too many distractions.  She felt that she was finally caught up.  Meg also had time to go with Nick to his grandpa's birthday party, have a tennis lesson and help with the pigs.  I went with her to tennis and enjoyed watching her play.  The strength of her strokes and especially her serve were impressive.  She hasn't had much time to practice this winter with basketball and her oral surgery, but she looked ready for the tennis season today.

I took a long walk today.  It was cold, but nothing like what was forecasted for tomorrow with windchills below zero degrees and record low highs.  Because of this, I was happy to be outside today even though the temperature remained in the upper twenties while I was walking.  The rest of the day for me was spent reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  It has become one of my favorites in the series and I have enjoyed rereading it.  Doug had some work to do, but was able to finish it early.  We started a movie in the evening, but found it hard to follow.  We might give it a try another time.  It didn't matter how good the movie was anyway, it was just nice to have a quiet day at home after two very long weeks.

A Busy Saturday

Meg and Nick left this morning around 11 a.m. for a special visitation for KeShawn with the senior class and the basketball and soccer teams.  The funeral followed immediately afterward.  Meg said that it was very nice, but extremely sad.  She took a picture of the poster that she had made for Shawn's senior night as it was part of the memory items on display.  In thinking of how bad her mouth hurt that day, I was just so glad that she was able to go to the game last Friday night.

After the funeral they were all invited to Evan Brown's for a gathering.  The last stop of the night for them was the play at Bethany Christian, Junie B. Jones.  Meg absolutely loved it.  That was her favorite book series in first grade.  Meg identified with the main character then and could still remember the story lines now.

Cam had a busy day as well.  Avery spent the night last night and today they finished their science fair project and watched the IU game.  I don't know if Avery was excited, but Cam sure appreciated the Hoosiers win over Michigan State therefore keeping their NCAA tournament hopes alive.  This afternoon Doug and I took him to his first tennis singles match of the season.  We were both so incredibly impressed with how well he played.  Doug hadn't gotten to watch him this Spring, so he didn't realized how much Cam had really improved his skill set this winter.  His opponent was several years older, but Cam controlled the first match winning 6-3 and came from behind in the second to win 6-4.  He was tired afterward, but happy with the result.

While Nick and Meg were busy this evening Doug, Cam and I played Ticket to Ride.  I actually won this evening which was a rarity.  Doug made calzones for dinner and after the board game we started "Wait Until Dark."  It had been years since we watched it and Doug really enjoyed it.  It was a nice way to end a busy day.

A Show of Support

Tonight was the Bethany boys basketball teams first game in the sectional tournament.  Bethany wanted to fill the stands with blue in an effort to honor the memory of KeShawn and the impact he had had on the Bruins team this year.  The seniors ordered matching shirts that said "Play for KeKe". Bethany provided a bus for transportation to and from Fremont.  They bought sectional tickets for each student that wanted to attend the game and even had pizza beforehand for those riding over with the school.

The game was a wonderful tribute to his memory.  The Bethany team had new black warmups with Smith 34 written on the back.  In a classy move Fremont did the same only with white shirts sporting his name and number.  The two teams playing after Bethany and Fremont were asked to arrive early and wear white to show their support as well.  Before the game the teams, coaches, referees, cheerleaders, and Bethany's girls basketball team gathered in a circle to pray together.  The Bruins played tough without their star player and at the half were only down a point.  In the third quarter, however, Fremont pulled ahead and ended the game with a 51-39 victory.

We were at Bethany to pick up Cam and Avery when they got off the bus.  They enjoyed the evening even though it was a sad one.  They relayed stories of the middle school antics on the bus and Cam let us know that it was "cringy" that Meg led the Bruin student sections in cheers, even though I was sure that he was glad that she did.  Nick and Meg also shared stories when they got home.  They both thought it was a wonderful way to celebrate Shawn's life at Bethany.  We watched the highlights of it on WNDU with them as they talked about the night.  At the end Meg said it best, "It was such a great night.  The only thing missing was Shawn.  He would have loved it."