Back to Bloomington

Since Nick only had to work two days this week, he and Meg decided to spend the rest of it in Bloomington.  Brett was glad to host them once again and they left tonight around 6 p.m.  Before she headed out Meg and I spent the morning at the grocery store.  We decided to try Menards as well as we wanted to buy a few household items that weren't available at Martin's.  We were impressed with how safe we felt while shopping in the hardware store.  Everyone was required to wear a mask and the aisles were large enough that we could easily social distance.  They also had items priced well below what we could buy online or at the grocery store.

Once we got everything unloaded from our shopping trip, Meg spent the rest of her day packing for trip, doing some of her homework and cleaning her room.  She was excited to leave for Bloomington and I didn't blame her.  Their county's low COVID-19 rates, social distancing measures and mask requirements allow for her and Nick to get out more than they can here.  It also gives her some independence.  We will miss her, but are glad that they were able to get away for a few days. 

It's All About the Numbers

Today Elkhart County passed a mandate that all residents have to wear a mask while in public.  I had been wondering when this would happen and was relieved that the state and county finally decided to take matters into their own hands.  Both Elkhart General and Goshen General Hospitals had come close to reaching full capacity in their ICU units and the amount of people testing positive in the county had continued to climb topping out at 20%.

With Elkhart County a mainstay in the Heinisch family through Doug's work, Cam's school and both Meg and Cam's friends predominantly living in that area, the out of control rise of positive COVID-19 tests had become a daily topic in our home.  It had altered what we did and where we were went.  Throughout the stress of it all, I just couldn't understand the laissez faire attitude of those living in the county.  I also could not believe the negative responses that appeared today in the news.  What did they think would happen when the numbers continued to rise?  The state's goal was to be below a 5% positivity rate and for the last week this was an impossible goal to reach since Elkhart County was 15 to 20% of Indiana's daily total.

I remembered all of the negative posts on social media when St. Joseph county enacted a mask mandate.  Several citizens stated that they would be doing all of their shopping in Elkhart County since a mask was not required.  Now six weeks later St. Joe is only at a 7.1% positive rate, compared to Elkhart's which is close to double at 14.1%.  St. Joe also has had 1200 less cases than its neighboring couny, even though their county has over 60,000 more residents than Elkhart.

I didn't even have to look at the totals between Elkhart and St. Josephy counties to understand the importance of mask wearing in slowing the spread of the Coronavirus.  In Bloomington the pandemic has been taken seriously since the beginning of the outbreak.  Masks were required at Brett's work before the stay at home order was even announced.  Both Meg and Brett have told us that social distancing, outdoor eating, closing of public pools, reducing the capacity of social gatherings, increased sanitary measurments at the bars and businesses requiring mask use has become the norm in Monroe County.  Because of that, their positive COVID-19 rate has remained at about 3% during the past four months.  In contrast Kosicusko County has seen our positive rate rise to close to 10% during the same time frame.  We also have 150 more individual COVID-19 cases even though Monroe County is almost double our size with 70,000 more residents.  It doesn't take a math scholar to look at the numbers and realize that COVID-19 could become a thing of the past, if only people would follow the guidelines.  All of us want life to return to normal, but it isn't fair that only some citizens have to follow the rules.  None of the changes that Monroe County made would alter much of our lifestyle and that would enable all of us to enjoy the benefits of living in a healthy community.  

Starting to Heat Up

Today was definitely the hottest one of the week.  Thankfully, we have still been able to keep the house cool without running the air conditioner.  In fact I believe that everyone has gotten used to it.  I spend time during the day keeping the lights off, putting fans in the windows and alternating between being outside in the shade and inside when the sun's too hot on the back deck.  Doug has also come up with meals that he can grill and ones that he can cook in the crockpot outback.  Cam and Cal have used the basement more during the heat of the day as it has its own natural cooling system.  Even the guniea pigs have found new homes down there when the temperature gets too hot for them.

It has worked well for us and we have enjoyed the fresh, clean air.  Doug and I grew up without air conditioning and never had it at IU, so it hasn't been much of an adjustment for us.  Unfortunately, that may change as the forecast has called for at least two weeks of hot, humid temperatures starting tomorrow.  Thus, we may have to turn on the air conditioning for part of the day.  Neither Doug nor I are completely sure that it even works as we haven't run it since last August.  My plan is to buy a new filter and try it out this week.  It it doesn't than maybe we'll all be taking a turn in the basement for awhile.

A Quiet Saturday Night

It was a quiet day for all of us.  Cam decided to take a break from golf since Saturdays at Maxwelton have become quite crowded.  He was also still feeling the effects of walking thirty-six holes yesterday.  He spent his time at home watching Spongebob, playing Minecraft and taking on Cal and Doug at badminton.

Meg was happy to have fnished her homework last night giving her more freetime than she had had in quite awhile.  After dinner Rachael and Alex joined she and Nick at our house for a late night movie on the "big screen."  It took them awhile to find one that they were interested in watching.  In the end, however, they all enjoyed Back to the Future and made plans to watch Princess and the Frog next time.

Cal worked for the majority of the day at Tippy and then spent the afternoon at Hannah-Marie's.  He thought that he had plans with friends tonight, but that didn't work out.  He played golf instead and then beat Grandma and Grandpa at Rummikub.  Brett called from Andrew's this evening.  They were enjoying the night, catching up on the activities of their week.  Doug and I both enjoyed our day.  We were able to take a walk, finish a few small projects and play several rounds of Ticket to Ride.  Overall, it was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday.

Maple Crest

Today was Cameron's second golf tournament of the summer season.  Being that it was played at Maplecrest in Goshen, it was a lot easier to get to for all of us.  I dropped him off at 9 a.m. so he could putt before his 9:39 tee time.  Maplecrest has been known for his fast greens, so he was thankful for the practice.  Grandma and Grandpa chose to follow along for the entire eighteen holes while Meg and I thought it would be best to only watch the back nine.  Doug was even able to catch a few holes while on his lunch break.

Overall, Cameron was extremely pleased with his round of 82 finishing tied for eighth on the day.  The front nine provided the most challenge for him as he finished with two double bogeys on both eight and nine and ended up with a score of 44. We were happy to see him rebound with a 38 on the back complete with back to back birdies.  In all honesty Cameron's score was not the most important part of the day.  We were actually extremely glad that he had the opportunity to play and that he was pleased with his round.  Missing out on his Freshmen golf season was disappointing for Cameron.  Having the Indiana Junior tournaments to participate in has made that a little easier.

We Have Adjusted

Doug let us know tonight that the salary reduction announced at work in April would continue indefinitely.  It was originally hoped that this loss in wages would only last three months, but unfortunately that will not be the case.  None of us were surprised by the news.  Although the economy has seen some improvement, it's definitely not what it was in February of this year.  We have survived so far on less money and had already budgeted for our fiscal year with the idea that he may not receive an increase or bonus until next summer.  It will mean that we have to take some money out of our home equity line to pay for Cam's 529 plan.  We will also have to reduce our Christmas budget and cut our vacation money.  

Thankfully, we have gotten used to spending less and aren't planning on eating out or going on trips (except to Bloomington) until all of this is over.  Thus, a reduction in wages won't affect our short term plans.  I realize that this may not be the same for others and for an end to the pandemic soon.

Hanging Out with Friends While Social Distancing

It's been challenging for Cameron and Meg to find friends to hang out with and still stay inside the social distance parameters required to avoid COVID-19.  Meg had a few friends that she had wanted to do something with this week, but one was sick, another grounded, a third never texted back and the fourth one had plans with her sister.  She was disapponted, but was glad that Nick was still available.  He had been busy with work and an online Physics class, but he and Meg were still able to eat dinner with his family, clean out his room and walk Millie last night.

While Meg was at Nick's, I ran Cameron over to Bailey's.  They hadn't been able to connect in a couple of weeks, but were able to make time for a bonfire at her house last night.  They enjoyed hanging out and jumping on the trampoline.  We appreciated Nick and Meg picking him up, therefore saving us an additional trip to Goshen.  The pandemic has altered how much Cam and Meg have been able to get together with friends, but we were thankful that they were able to get out of the house and have some fun this week.