A Text Book Mad-House, Twelve Years I’m Here…

We enjoyed another fast week, here at the Scheu abode. We enjoyed cooler days at the start of the week, but gradually, Mother Nature reminded us that it’s still summer and our old friends heat & humidity had returned by the end of the week. We saw hazy skies in the early mornings and at sunset due to wildfires in the northwest US and Canada. It’s crazy to think that something so far away can have an impact on us here. Matt had a minor setback at his new job. It was great to see him this weekend for a little while. He is excited to take a trip with Ms. Taylor next week. Abby worked two jobs this week, as she continued to work with Gigi at WTRE as well as her internship, out of town. That caused her to spend a lot less time at home and a lot more back in Franklin. She began focusing on the next chapter of her life, as she made a very mature decision to focus on herself and end her three-year relationship. The big news of the week was our baby Luke going back to school for his senior year. This will be the twelfth straight year of us having a child in the high school…and sadly our last. We’ll have a lot of those moments this year – the final thing for this phase of our life. Luke continued to work two jobs (yard / construction with Harris as well as at the sporting goods store). He continued football practices and was ecstatic to get back to full pads / full contact! He also enjoyed playing in another scrimmage this weekend. Unfortunately, we also dealt with health issues with our friends and family. Mom used to say they go in threes and this was no different as we said goodbye to Ann’s Aunt Linda Gommel, our family friend Casey Miller as well as Garrett – though obviously he’s still living – but still a loss that was grieved by the entire family. We do want to wish our buddy Dick Hellmich a speedy recovery from his shoulder replacement this week as well as his amazing wife Phyllis, who is continuing to do well after her health scare a couple weeks ago. I spoke with Dad B this week and he is doing well with rehabbing his back and more recently, his heart. Abs touched base briefly with her Gpa Scheu and she said he was doing good also. I’m a horrible son as I don’t call them regularly like I should… Ann & I had busy weeks at work and home as she spent some time with friends this week and I continued to lose a few pounds while exceeding my walking goal – achieving seventeen miles of walking and enjoyed 36 holes of frisbee golf. It was a good week but it was also a tough week as well… Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Scheu Family Blog.

It was back to work on Monday morning. Luke got called into Hibbett’s that morning then went to football practice. Afterward, he mowed for Coach Harris and then borrowed Tonya and went to lift at the Y. He wound up staying in that night, worn out from all the activity that day. Abs had her first day of work at her internship in Greenwood. She said she enjoyed it but it is definitely different. She went over to her friends’ house that afternoon then they came all came over to hang out for a while and have a drink with us. Meanwhile, Ann had a good day at work, as did I. I did a lot of paperwork and enjoyed lunch with the guys at Riviera Maya. I was tired all day, still struggling to recover from Saturday’s intense workout. I walked two and half miles after getting out a little late. After dropping Annie off at home, she did some chores around the house while I played a round of frisbee golf. I struggled again, throwing it in the pond once and nearly doing it a second time. I ended with a one-over 28 for the day. After enjoying an amaretto sour with Abs, we watched the Team USA women’s soccer game vs. Canada. The ladies looked tired from the last game that went double OT and then had PKs. It was such a high, that it was no surprise that they came out flat. There was an odd starting lineup as well and they never looked in-sync the whole time, losing 0-1. They are now out of the gold medal running and will compete for the bronze in their final game of the Olympics. I fell asleep during what was frankly a boring game. Rather than going to bed like I should have, I stayed up to edit pictures and videos for this week’s blog and wound up staying up to watch some track & field events, including a cool 400-meter hurdle race that was really close. Eventually, I forced myself to go to bed and get some rest. Here are random pictures of our recent adventures.

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We headed back into work on a cool morning in the fifties on Tuesday. I had a fast morning and while I was in a meeting with the senior management, I heard from Ann, who said her Aunt Linda had passed away that morning. She had been sick for a while but had recent rallied and was able to get out of CRH’s ICU and had moved back to Greensburg, recovering out at Matt’s old place of business – Aspen Place. She was having trouble swallowing recently. Although we haven’t heard a definitive cause of death, we suspect her heart played a role. This news comes on the heels of Mom & Sandy’s good friend Casey taking a turn for the worse this week. They have gathered family and are expecting end of life soon, unfortunately. And then there’s our close family friend Dick (Phyllis’ home). He is having replacement shoulder surgery tomorrow (Wednesday). Mom used to say things like this goes in threes… Luke enjoyed his final day of summer vacation by working at Hibbett’s. Afterward, he went to football practice and then went out with his buddies. He again drove Betty White, opting to let the Hot Rod Lincoln stay parked at the house. Abby worked at WTRE that morning then drove to Franklin to stay the night with friends to be closer for her return to the internship in Greenwood tomorrow. Matthew took the big test he has been studying for these last few weeks for his new job. Unfortunately, he came up just a handful of points short of passing and now has to way a few weeks before he is eligible to take it again. He said he is looking forward to coming home this weekend. After work, I walked three miles. Although it was cooler, the sun was still really hot. When we got back to town, we went directly to Mom & Sandy’s house to be with them. Linda was one of only two direct family members that Maryann had still alive. We wanted to do dinner with them, so they didn’t have to fuss with anything. We were hoping to take them out somewhere, but they didn’t feel like going out so we wound up getting Koch’s carryout for dinner. We sat and visited for a couple hours and even had a piece of lemon cake. After we left, I dropped Annie off at home and went out to the park to play a round of frisbee golf. I hit three birdies and logged a 26…but it could’ve been a 21 or 22. I had five shots that doinked off either the bottom or top of the goal. I kind of like twilight golf; it was MUCH cooler and there was much less traffic. When Luke came home, he didn’t stay up long before heading to bed on his first school night in a few months. Ann and I chilled with the dogs that evening, watching Olympics coverage all night before calling it a day and hitting the hay…

Wednesday was a big day for us. Luke got up and was out the door early on his first day of school. Coach Mary had some boys over for Senior Breakfast. …Not sure if this will be an ongoing theme this year or just a special event to kickoff the boys’ final year at GCHS. We got our annual first day-of-school pic (much to Luke’s chagrin) before he headed off for his special day in old Betty White. It was another splendidly beautiful morning with temps in the upper fifties again and lots of bright sunshine. Matt took his cats to the vet for the first time and they did great. Abby worked at her internship that day and said it went great. She came home and spent time with her Gma. Luke said his first day at school was uneventful, as was football practice afterward. That evening, he worked out at the Y with his buddies then came home to eat. Ann and I had fast days at work. She worked up front while I spent the day doing our monthly purchasing for the facility. I walked a 5K that afternoon then ran Ann out to her friend’s house in BFE. To tell you just how far out in the boondocks we were, I drove down a gravel road for the first time in…well, I can’t remember the last time I drove down a gravel road! They went out to the St. Paul Tavern for a girls’ night out with all their scrapbooking friends. When I got back to town, I stopped at the frisbee golf course and Abs joined me. We both threw fairly well. She had a 28 from the front tees while I threw a 24 from the back tees, which ties my best for the year and is the second time in a week! Afterward, Abs went to get Molie and they went to the store and ran through the Wendy’s drive through. The girls and I watched the new Rick & Morty while eating dinner then Abs made some amaretto sours and the girls enjoyed some porch time. Meanwhile, Ann came home and we flipped over to watch the Olympic games for a while. We have lots of social media pictures to share this week.

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We had a fast Thursday. It was a little warmer that day, but we were still able to ride with the windows down during our commute to and from work. The corn is really high right now, which is kind of cool as we cruise through the countryside each day. I enjoyed a fast day at work, especially our weekly trip to Chicago’s pizza for lunch with the gang. Ann worked up front again so her day went really fast as well. She enjoyed lunch with their big gang of gals at Camilla’s. I was late getting out of work and only managed to walk two miles afterward in the heat. When we got back to town, I dropped off Ann and picked up Abs and we went to the park to play a quick round of frisbee golf. My putting was atrocious and Abs wound up beating me again by one stroke. ? Bu worked at WTRE and did a couple things around the house. After frisbee, she got cleaned-up and drove back to Franklin to spend the night with Hilary and then work up in Franklin, first thing in the morning. Luke had some trouble getting his butt out of bed that morning. He talked about maybe working out before school at like 5 or 530 in the morning instead of doing it after football practice. I just laughed because he can barely get up at 630 to just get ready for school – LOL. He had a long day of classes before heading to football practice. He stayed late and did their annual trash bag fundraiser that evening. When he got done, he came home to get cleaned up a little and showed us his bumps, bruises and scrapes after their first full-contact / full-pads practice of the year. He was tired but turned around and went right back out to Oakley’s house to help them bale hay, so I know he will be exhausted tonight. Matt went back to the doctor that day and got a clean bill of health for his groin area, so he’s good to go now! I tried to get the Band of Merry Men together for a “coaches meeting??? that evening to coincide with the Hall of Fame game at Canton. It was the Cowboys vs. Steelers that evening. However, things didn’t work out so we’ll try again next week. Shawna dropped off a laptop for me to work on that evening, so I focused on trying to get it up and going for several hours, finally making myself go to bed at 1. I heard from Best Buy’s Geek Squad that evening, which had Abby’s laptop diagnosed. I was correct – it was a definitely a hardware issue…they wanted to do a $400 repair on it. After some discussion, we decided to pass on it and instead put that $$ towards a new device.

We were a little off our game on Friday, missing our normal run through of the Dunkin and instead drove back to Columbus to work a half day. Ann had to work up front to cover for Judy, who’s off for surgery. We were saddened to hear the Casey passed away that morning. That makes it three losses this week – Garrett, Linda and now Casey…though technically Gary isn’t dead, of course…just won’t see him anymore. We had fast mornings before heading back home a little after noon. I watched some Olympics and grabbed something to eat. I then went out and mowed the lawn and picked up dog crap. Our yard is looking shabby right now. I don’t know which is worse – the mole in our front yard or Delilah in the back yard! D-Bug has ten new holes – 3 in the middle of the yard, 3 around the shed and 4 along the back fence…what a little shit. I got cleaned up and before long, Matt came down to spend the night with us. We were expecting Taylor to join him, but she wasn’t able to come this time. Luke enjoyed sleeping in a little that morning. Every Friday is a late day for all the kids this year as the staff will use that time for CEUs. He went to football practice that night and enjoyed having full-contact again. Abby went to her internship in Greenwood again then spent a little time at her friend’s house before coming back to town. She met Ann, Matt and I up at the funeral home where we joined up with Mom and Sandy for Linda’s visitation. Dave and their family were all there and I think the general vibe was that this was probably a blessing since she had been in so much pain over the last couple years. Afterward, Ann & I took the kids out to El Reparo so I could finally pay my debt to Matthew. He won our March Madness tourney and just now collected on our wager. We enjoyed a couple pitches with our meal and then came back home to play some Euchre. We played three games, rotating partners each time. Matt & I won the first one in like four hands. Ann & Matt won the second game and then Ann & I won the final one. We enjoyed a few cocktails with Grey Goose, Diet 7-Up and black cherry Ice – yum! Afterward, we moved outside and played a couple games of Sorry and enjoyed a great cigar with some Sailor Jerry. It was a perfect way to end the evening… Here are some pictures of recent additions to my Hot Wheels collection.

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Ann & I were up early on Saturday morning as we headed over to St. Paul to see Lori at Wild Flour bakery. We stopped by to see Mom & Sandy on our way home and drop off some pastry goodness for them. We came home and ate breakfast with the kids…except Luke. He had left to go have breakfast with some of his teammates before their scrimmage that morning. We hung out with the kids and talked for a while before heading over to Shriver Field for the first time this season for our final Blue / White game. Luke and the varsity boys again went first this season. The annual fundraiser goes to fund the youth football program and features exhibition games all day long with all the different age groups. Luke played running back and middle linebacker. He had a few nice tackles and several encouraging runs, including a seventy-yard TD! Mom & Sandy came out for a while but it was so hot out there that they only stayed for about a half hour before leaving to go shopping at Sauder’s in Rushville and cool down. We had a parent meeting afterward and then Ann spoke with the senior parents once Coach Moore finished. She is heading up all the senior stuff this year, including senior banners and stuff as well as senior spirit wear and maybe even some tailgating! ???? Scott took the senior parents over to the new locker room which is coming along nicely. They’re hoping to be able to use it by October…and it looks like the turf field that has been whispered about for a few years now may be coming true, here in a few years! Abby ran off with Mary and Matt went back up to his apartment in Carmel after the game. Ann & I took Black Betty through the car wash as she had gotten really dirty when I took her down that dirt / gravel road. We came home afterwards, where Luke was eating and then took a nap before he went in to work at Hibbett’s. I grabbed something to eat, worked on the blog for a while and watched a couple episodes of SVU. Sandy stopped by that afternoon to drop off some produce from Sauder’s she had picked up for Ann. She used the supplies to make some yummy corn as well as cheesy potatoes. Abs, Mary & Julia ran around for a bit then met us over at Jimmy & Christie’s where we had dinner and drinks with the hosts, Mary & Jason and Aaron & Kristie along with Mary’s two boys. After a great pitch-in dinner, the guys played some cornhole, where I lost three straight games before it got too dark to see. It was weird how humid it got in the 90 minutes we were outside. I had heard the humidity was making a return, but man it came fast and hard. We talked and laughed for hours before calling it a night and heading home. After work, Luke went to a party then came home shortly before we did. We didn’t talk much; he just did his laundry, took a shower and went on to bed. I finally figured out the issues with Shawna’s dad’s laptop and got it straightened out, updated and ready to go back to its owner. We watched the rest of the weekly Ion TV marathon of SVU…and once we woke up in the living room, we went on to bed.

We enjoyed sleeping in a little on Sunday. Delilah was barking shortly after sunrise so I got up and let her and Lola out and just stayed up to begin our weekly household chores. I finished writing out the bills and cleaned up the family room, putting away Matt’s bed, rearranging the furniture and filing all this week’s paperwork. I finished Luke’s laundry that he began late last night. I folded the towels and put them away then did the dishes and once Annie got up; I did the laundry. We watched the season 17 debut of Ancient Aliens while eating breakfast and then went to the Wal of Mart. Luke slept in a little late and Ann had to wake him up before we left so that he wouldn’t be late to work. So, he jumped up, brushed his teeth and quickly went into Hibbett’s. Abby stayed the night with Julia last night and then went swimming for several hours that afternoon once she got her behind out of bed. She came home that evening but was only here for about an hour before heading back up to Franklin to go hang and stay the night with her other group of friends. Luke had a long day of work and came home grumpy. He didn’t say three words and all of them were cranky. He wasn’t home five minutes before heading right back out to go mow two lawns for Coach Harris as the sun was starting to set. Ann and I went shopping at Walmart for two hours. Well, I guess 20 minutes was driving there and back but we waited in line for at least 30 minutes and more likely 45. It was really busy and they were out of cash so it was card only. I was surprised at how many people still used cash in this day and age in lieu of their debit card. We got everything put away and enjoyed a quick pizza from their deli and enjoyed a quiet afternoon with the dogs. Ann read and napped while I watched all three NASCAR races from Watkins Glenn while I wrote out the blog, including all the html code. That evening, Ann made cheesy Fireworks popcorn for dinner…and she made mine with the hot pepper oil that numbed my lips and tongue! ???? We watched the two new episodes of Ancient Aliens as well as the closing ceremony at the Olympics. It was a relaxing way to wind down the weekend and put the kibosh on yet another fast week…

Next up is our Waybac segment which continues to feature pictures in 2005 from Deanna’s digital camera. We lead off in March to see Abs & Gracey on Easter Sunday at Gma & Gigi’s house; In May, we see Mom & Sandy with their dogs – the Campsendelles; July again has the lion’s worth of pix this time out – swimming, cookout and fireworks at our house on the 3rd, lunch at Gma & Gigi’s after the parade on the 4th, Grace’s bday at Mom & Sandy’s house, and Sandy’s bday at El Reparo; Dee’s bday party at the Main St house and then the Owens’ Christmas Eve gala at Gma & Gigi’s house.

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Next up is our video segment which includes one short home movie this week as well as several from around the internet.

And that will do it for this week’s entry of the Scheu Family Blog. Thanks for keeping up with us this time out and we’ll catch up with you again next time. Until then, have a good one and stay safe out there. We miss ya, Mom.
Later, Scheu

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