On Our Way to Atlanta

Four years ago last April, Meg and Cameron left the San Diego Zoo happy to have seen their beloved set of pandas, especially since they were going to be returned to China a month later.  After some discussion the two of them decided that the next zoo that they wanted to visit was the one in Atlanta.  They had already visited the pandas in the rest of the United States - Memphis, Washington D.C. and San Diego.  Since Atlanta was the only other zoo with pandas, it only made sense to put visiting that zoo on Meg and Cameron's bucket list.

Doug and I agreed to their request immediately.  It seemed like such an easy trip to make.  Phil was living in Atlanta and we could schedule our visit for the weekend of the 4th of July, 2020 when Doug would have a few days off from work.  I booked the trip shortly after the first of the year and we all started checking out other places to visit in Atlanta to visit while we were there.  Unfortunately, the pandemic hit hard in the spring of 2020 and we soon realized that we would have to cancel our plans.  I wasn't too worried about rescheduling as we still had three years to visit the pandas before Cameron left for college.

Meg had taken iCore during the summer of 2021 and had an internship with Plante Moran in 2022.  Thus, it was three years after our original scheduled visit to Atlanta before we could even talk about a date to visit its zoo.  I suggested to Meg and Cameron that the three of us travel with Doug to Ocala in late June.  We would be able to stop in Atlanta on the way and finally see the last two pandas in the United States.  It would also give us a chance to take one last trip with just the four of us before Cameron left for college and Meg moved to Chicago.

Today, we packed the Pilot and headed toward Atlanta.  We knew that it would be dinner time before we made it to Georgia's capital.  Since Stone Mountain was the only place that would be open after dark, we decided that we would stop there first.  It was a lot more commercial than I remembered from my visit in 1985 with my high school band.  It was also more racist than I realized during my first visited as the KKK funded the Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis carvings in the side of the quartz mountain.  Although I was extremely uncomfortable when we first arrived, we did enjoy dinner and a round of miniature golf before the laser light show.  The performance was enjoyable and I was glad to see that the tourists enjoying the park at night were multi-ethnic.  After a very busy day, we finally made it to our hotel at 11 p.m., tired, but happy with the first leg of our long awaited road trip.

One Last Step

When we decided to accept an offer on our home, we knew that it would take longer than normal to finalize because the buyer was applying for a VA Loan.  Since they put in the bid before we had planned on listing the house, we could afford the additional weeks that it would take for all of the extra steps to be completed.  We were pleased that the first inspection was early and went well.  Everything else that followed had also gone as expected, leaving it even more frustrating this final step would not be completed by today as was agreed upon when we signed the contract in May. 

Doug called our realtor this week to see what the hold up was.  She said that it was normal, but that didn't alleviate the stress that missing the deadline has caused in the Heinisch home.  Since the appraisor hasn't let us know the date of the last inspection, we have had to have the house "show ready" for the entire month of June for no reason.  Even our neighbors have asked why the sign hasn't changed to "pending" or "sold" yet when the buyers have been telling everyone that they are moving in soon.  

Hopefully, Doug's call made some difference.  At first we were asked to extend the date by three weeks, making it mid July before we knew if their financing was approved.  Doug let our realtor know that he had no interested in waiting unless they agreed to the buyer's realtor taking less money.  We noticed that once he said that everything changed.  We were then only asked to extend the agreement by a week.  As soon as we signed that document, we were almost instantly contacted by the appraiser setting the inspection appointment for next Thursday.  Although it wasn't the perfect date as Cameron would have just gotten back from Florida, we were still thrilled to hear that the process was moving in the right direction.  

Passport Drama

In 2018, I invested in getting passports for all of the Heinisch family members.  Doug and I talked at length about taking anyone who wanted to go with us to Canada.  We thought that would be a great way for everyone that hadn't been out of the country (all of us except Doug) to at least get one stamp in their passport.  Getting everyone passports also fulfilled a promise to Jeanette.  She really wanted all of us to have one just in case a last minute trip was planned for out of the country.  

Fast forward to 2023 and I realize that life changed a lot since we first got passports in the fall of 2018.  Due to school schedules, the worldwide pandemic and Doug's travel schedule, we never reached my original goal.  Doug may have traveled to Toronto for work, but until January of 2023 none of the rest of us had traveled out of the country until Brett went to the Bahamas on a wedding cruise.  Cal will also have an opportunity to use his at the end of the summer when he travels to Ireland with his friends.  

As passports are good for ten years, I truly believe that Meg and I will get to use ours for more than just backup id when flying.  Cameron, however, will never get the chance to use his original passport.  Since he was under the age of sixteen when he got his first one, he had to renew after five years.  Knowing that his was expiring this September and that he really wanted to travel abroad during his time as a student at IU, he and I went to the Post Office this week to get him a new one.  It was pretty easy to do and within ten minutes his picture was taken, application was filled out and the renewal was on the way to the state department.  

Until today, I didn't realize how much drama getting a passport was causing around the country.  Stories of people having to cancel trips because their passport didn't arrive in the thirteen week time period were everywhere.  Even those who paid for expedited service were receiving them late.  I read about people traveling all over the US as there were so few appointments available in the country at the passport offices.  Meg told us that Trent, Nick's brother, almost didn't get to go on his honeymoon because of a clerical error.  He tried every day to get an appointment for a new US passport, but ended up having to travel to Canada to receive one from there.  Fortunately, he had dual citizenship or he would have missed his trip.  

Hopefully, none of this should affect Cameron.  He doesn't plan on traveling any time in the near future.  The state department has already cashed my check, so I know that they at least have received his paperwork.  I'll keep my fingers crossed for now and not worry too much about it.  

Cal's Visits

Cal headed back to Chicago today.  I am always sorry to see him leave, but this time more so than others.  I really appreciated having him here for Father's Day, but realized that soon it would not be as easy for him to visit us.  Cal is a last second planner, so being only two and a half hours away makes for a quick trip home when he has a few days.  It isn't much longer to fly to Florida, but Cal will have to plan ahead for those visits to work.  I was sad when I thought about the fact that maybe I wouldn't get see him as much as I had these past three years.

I finally told Doug what was bothering me.  Although I was really excited about moving to Florida, I wasn't quite sure how that would affect us seeing Cal.   I also told him that the other three Heinisch children plan a lot further in advance, so I've never been worried about visiting them or having them come to Ocala.  Doug looked at me and said, "You're right.  Cal is a last second planner and coming to Florida won't be as easy for him as it was to Syracuse.  With that in mind, it just means that we'll have to visit Chicago more.  Problem solved."  Those words made this mom's heart smile.  

Mammogram Time

I left early for Warsaw today for my noon appointment at the hospital.  I knew that I could almost always get in early for a mammogram.  The hospital was all torn up for a remodeling project that wouldn't be finished for well over two years.  Thankfully, women's imaging was open as usual.  I just had to register at a different place.  I was right about getting in early, as I was done with my appointment well before twelve.

A yearly mammogram for me is really no big deal.  Besides the uncomfortableness of the process, it is not anything that I worry about, especially since I have no history of breast cancer on either side of my families.  I realize that is completely different for Doug's mother's side of the family.  As far as I know, every female on the Brucker side had been diagnosed with the disease by the time Jeanette had died.  

Obviously, I hope that is not the case for Meg, Morgan and Addie.  Even if it is, I know that medical technology has really advanced in the last ten years which should help greatly with a long term prognosis if any of them are diagnosed.  Thankfully, they are all young enough that for now that they really only just need to be aware of the family history.  With that in mind, today, I will just appreciate that I am not high risk and will put it out of my mind until next spring when I receive a reminder message to schedule my next one.  

Happy Father's Day

Doug's Father's Day started at 8 am mass where Cameron was awarded the Knights of Columbus scholarship. It was that Father Andrew recognized him as well since Cameron had spent many years volunteering as an altar server at St. Martin's. Both Doug and I were extremely proud and also very appreciative of the financial support that the Knights had given our children as they each started their freshmen year in college.

After mass, Doug made brunch for us. We were glad that Meg, Nick, Cameron, and Cal could all join us. Brett decided to stay in Bloomington since we were just with him this past Monday and Tuesday. The food was delicious - spinach quiche and cheesy potatoes with sausage.

Grandma and Grandpa arrived after lunch for gifts and cards. Grandpa appreciated his wallet, Chief ice cream and gift card. Doug also received a wallet from my parents which he desperately needed. Cal brought him a bottle of cherry, vanilla bourbon which Doug was excited to try. Meg, Cameron and I decided to splurge this year on Doug's gift - a countertop ice maker. It's one item in our house that we run out of all of the time. It worked perfectly and will be so much more convenient than filling ice trays.

Cal and Grandpa were going to play golf while Cameron worked at the Chief. The golf course didn't have any tee times left, so instead Cal waited for Cameron to get home so they could play corn hole while Doug made his homemade mac and cheese. We then finished the evening by watching the US Open. It was the perfect day for the best. father. ever!!

Picking Favorites

Growing up I realized that many parents and grandparents had favorite children or grandchildren.  I never really thought much about it when I was younger.  I just figured that it was a fact of life.  I didn't really  hear adults talk about their preferred family members.  Instead, I noticed that they would give better presents, more support and financial gifts to some children or grandchildren and not others.  Although, "favorite" was never said, it was definitely implied.  Recently, I even overheard someone tell another family member which one of their grandchildren was "most special to them."

After having four children of my own, the word favorite has a whole new meaning to me.  The only time that we use the word in our family is when one of us asks "What's your favorite Christmas movie?" or "Who's your favorite band?"  Meg will joke sometimes that Cal is my favorite, but in my entire life of being a parent, I can honestly say that I have never had a favorite child.  There may have been times that a child was easier than the others or that one had more of my attention for awhile, but that was because of necessity not favoritism.  With their differences in personality, healthcare and interests, there is no way that we could ever treat all four of them the same,  but I can definitely say that I love being a mom to all of the Heinisch children equally.