26 Years - Truly Blessed

Words could never expressed how incredibly blessed that I feel to be a part of Doug's life.  We were married twenty-six years ago today, and although not every day has been a bed of roses, life with Doug has far exceeded any of my expectations when I stood on the alter with him in 1993.  We have learned a lot over the years about each other and about what it takes to make a relationship succeed.  It's been a lot more work than either of us would have dreamed, but well worth it.  I am so incredibly thankful for his commitment to our family.  This month has been extremely stressful with life events such as graduations, recognition nights, senior dinners, board meetings, just to name a few.  It was so much easier to get through it all with Doug's help and support.  He decided a long time ago that the Heinisch family was the #1 priority in his life.  I couldn't ask for anything more.

Thirty years ago I could totally relate to the words that Freddy Mercury sang on stage:

Ooh, each morning I get up I die a little
Can barely stand on my feet
(Take a look at yourself) Take a look in the mirror and cry (and cry)
Lord, what you're doing to me (yeah yeah)
I have spent all my years in believing you
But I just can't get no relief, Lord!
Somebody (somebody) ooh somebody (somebody)
Can anybody find me somebody to love?

So glad that He answered with the "Love of my Life."  

He's Official

He's official, at least in the eyes of the law as Cal turned twenty-one today.  To celebrate he started his internship at Miso Corporation this morning. Although it may not have been how he planned on celebrated the big day, he was happy with it.  His first day/orientation went well, and he was glad to finally be working at something he loved.  In the evening he, Jayce and his friend, Evan, went out to officially celebrate at one of our favorite places in Carmel, Bazbeaux's.   He texted us about it later.  We were thrilled to hear that he was able to order his "first" drink with friends.   He's been waiting for this for quite some time.  Although it has felt to us that he has been twenty-one for quite some time, it is nice to know that the life to the Heinisch family is finally legal.

And He's Off

Cal left today after his two week break from school.  He had had a good visit, but was more than ready to get started on his internship.  He has so much of his dad in him.  He continually likes to be busy and pushes himself to learn especially in the business field just like Doug.  Cal was very happy  about his living arrangements.  He will be housed in a Stay at Home Suites which will include daily breakfast.  He was also excited about the pay.  After so many years of watching Brett work as an unpaid intern it was great to know that he would be supporting himself this summer and saving quite a bit as well.  I did tear up when he left.  I was happy for him, but will definitely miss having him around.  I was thankful for the shopping trips that we took and the Game of Thrones episodes that we watched while he was here.  It made it a lot easier watching him pull out of the driveway knowing that he would be back next weekend for Meg's graduation.  I can't wait to hear all about his new adventure.  I still remember Doug's internship at Amoco in Chicago during his college days.  It was a wonderful learning experience for him.  I am positive that Cal's will be the same.

An Early Celebration

Since Cal will be starting his internship on Monday, we decided to celebrate his 21st birthday early.  Tonight Doug cooked chicken, fish and pork chops on the grill plus made salad and cheese potatoes to go with it.  Cal had asked for apple dumplings which Grandma Jane was happy to make for him along with brownies and strawberry/rhubarb pie.  It was a delicious dinner, which the guys really enjoyed after playing golf together this afternoon.

After dinner Cal opened his gifts which included anchovies, socks and money from Grandma Jane and Grandpa Cutes, dress shorts from Cam, and earbuds from Meg.  I was proud of the Tony Soprano shirt that I had found for him which matched not only the mafia leader's, but also one of Brett's.   Since we couldn't be with Cal on his 21st, Doug decided to give him some Blue Moon and Guinness to  enjoy as well as two old Sports Illustrateds featuring Tiger Woods and the Flying Illini.  He liked all of his gifts and we spent the rest of the evening playing ladder golf, badminton and pool.  We ended the evening watching the NBA playoffs and Game of Thrones, capping off a perfect night for celebrating Cal.  

Senior Recognition

Today was senior recognition for Meg and the rest of her class at Bethany.  As we had not been to an event like this at Bethany before, we weren't quite sure what to expect.  We were pleasantly surprised at how personal it was.  Each senior was recognized by a staff member with the highlights of their  high school career displayed on the big screen in the chapel.  Meg was not only mentioned in her speech, but in several others as well.  It was a wonderful reminder of how well she had adjusted to  the transfer of schools and how much of an impact she had made in her two years as part of Bethany's class of 2019.  It was sad when they spoke about KeShawn, but other than that it was a special ceremony that Mom, Dad, Doug and I were all happy to have attended.  Meg was pleased with how the recognition was handled and was proud of her achievements.  She, Nick, Kevin and Phillip celebrated with dinner at Olive Garden before heading back to Goshen to listen to more senior faith statements.  It was a special day for her and one she will long remember.

Cameron had a fantastic day with his Bethany friends as well.  He and the eighth grade class spent it together in Chicago enjoying some shopping and good food.  I received a video mid-afternoon of he and Avery trying pizza and bacon flavored chocolate outside of Dylan's candy shoppe.  It was quite funny.  When Doug picked Cam up at 8:15 p.m. he had several more stories and videos to share.  His group had spent the majority of the day walking the Magnificent Mile.  Cam not only bought the chocolate, but also spent his money on a water art piece to add to his collection.  He ate lunch at Giordano's but decided on a Stromboli sandwich instead of pizza.  Tonight before he headed downstairs to play Madden with Cal he showed us a video of the seven members in his group emerging from a revolving door.  We were very happy to see that he had had such a fun day.

The Last Serve

Tonight was Meg's last high school tennis match.  The girls had drawn Goshen in the first round of the sectionals.  Meg had beaten her opponent before and we hoped that she would again, but it just wasn't meant to be.  Meg played well; she was focused and stayed steady against a consistent player.  The match was delayed about twenty minutes due to rain, but the break did not alter Meg's game at all.  A point or two was the difference in the match and in the end Meg found herself on the wrong side of a 6-4, 6-4 loss.

Bethany finished 2-3 on the night which knocked them out of the state tourney.  Meg teared up when it was all over, not so much because she lost, but because she was officially done with high school tennis.  It was a sport that she put a lot of time and effort into and we had so much fun watching her play over the past four years.  Of all of the sports that our children have participated in, tennis by far has been my favorite.  The Heinisch children have played hard, rallied when needed and have been animated on the court.  I will miss watching Meg play and in a way I was glad that I had to leave to go to Cam's middle school band concert before she was done.  I know for sure that I would have cried when she walked off the court.  Mr. Voirol once told me that it has to end sometime and rarely does one go out on top.  It definitely ended tonight for Meg, but she fought the good fight and in our minds went out top, leaving it all on court #1.  We couldn't ask for anything more in her last high school match.

They're Home

This afternoon both Doug and Cal arrived from their weekday trips.  Doug was in Phoenix for a board meeting.  He was pleased with how it went and was glad to be back.  He had taken the red eye into Detroit and from there flew to South Bend.  He did get about five hours of sleep, so he headed first to work before home.  I could have never done that as I cannot easily sleep in those type of situations.  I was glad that it worked for him, however, and was happy to have him back in Indiana.

Cal arrived about a half an hour after Doug.  He and Jayce had spent the last two days at Purdue hanging out with Cameron Adams.  He said they had a lot of fun.  I was glad that he chose to make the trip.  There wasn't a lot going on in Syracuse for him and Meg, Cam and I were gone each night with Bethany commitments.  While Cal was gone I watched the first season of Game of Thrones.  We differ a little on the characters, but we were both devastated when our favorite was executed.  I was glad that he talked me into watching it.  It has kept me occupied while I was painting and has give us something to talk about while he's home waiting to start his internship.