Saturday 27 February 2010

Caring is creepy

Round 25: Spring 2021
Lake Draper is 64, Kendal is 45 and Chris is 6.
(
Rose Draper is 26, Patience is 19, Calvin and Troy Clarke are both 18)

Narrated by Lake Draper

Since Patience, Calvin and Troy are all away at college, it's now just the three of us. It's almost eerily quiet and the house feels so empty.


Kendal's solution to this problem (which I don't see as a problem) is to have another baby. As you might have guessed, I don't agree.

Even if Kendal were to get pregnant right away, which is unlikely at 45, I'd reach my 80s while the kid was still in his teens. I avoided saying "if I even live that long", although I was thinking it. Kendal doesn't like to think about the likelihood that I'll go before she does. I think that might be part of the reason she wants another child.

Dealing with a new baby in my late 50s was tough enough and even now, I'm exhausted at the end of the day with Chris. I don't think I could do it again.

I'm really enjoying the age Chris is now anyway. He hasn't yet reached the age where he's shrugging us off or dealing with all that awful teenage stuff. This age is a lot of fun.


Chris is also independent enough to occupy himself for a couple of hours while I focus on my own interests for a little while, which is nice.

Kendal hasn't mentioned the baby thing again, since I said no, but I can tell she's still thinking about it.

I'm hoping this is just a passing phase for Kendal and that she can come to appreciate that there are some really good reasons to let Chris be an only child.

I'm still enjoying running the store. I never thought I would, had you asked me 20 years ago, but I do. It's a good thing too, because I don't know if any of the kids will want to take it over.

We even won our second Best of the Best award recently. I've come to recognise the reporter, so I always make sure to give her extra special treatment when she comes in. The store is now one of the most respected businesses in Exeter, so it must be working.

Chris is good friends with Edward Lachance, another boy in his class. If he has a friend over, it's almost always Edward. They're both very sporty boys, so they have that in common but I wonder if Chris is mostly friends with him because he's so easily led. I think he'd do just about anything Chris told him to and I hope Edward doesn't end up in trouble because of it!

So far, I think Chris has been behaving himself.

Kendal and I are careful to keep an eye on him, to make sure he doesn't get too rough. We're not sure where he gets it from, as neither of us are really like that. There's another good reason to stop with Chris - he's enough of a handful on his own.

We ended the spring with a family get-together at our house. Patience, Troy and Calvin came home from campus and Rose drove over from her house in Sullivan.

The get-together was meant as a farewell for Patience, before she embarked on her exchange trip to Cape Elizabeth.

But of course, it was a good opportunity to catch up in general. Kendal had only spoken to Troy and Calvin on the phone since they left for college and she was pleased to hear that everything was still going well for Calvin and his boyfriend Aaron.

Troy isn't quite so settled though and Kendal's hoping he finds someone soon.

Thankfully, Rose has been happily with the same girl since high school, while Patience has been hung up on Jacob. It's only recently that she's stopped talking about him so much. I really would love her to find someone else, maybe even on this trip. Preferably not a Cape Elizabeth local who's going to take my little girl away from home though!

It was just going to be me and Rose taking Patience to the airport, so everyone else said their goodbyes at the house.

I was dreading the drive to the airport, much as I knew she could take care of herself. When Patience got into the car, she was grinning. She didn't seem worried at all.

I guess this is just a father thing then. I was nervous enough for the both of us anyway.

I spent the whole car ride pestering Patience to be careful about this and watch out for that and that didn't end at the airport. I'm sure it was driving her crazy but she humoured me.

I had to let her go eventually, just so she could check in and get her boarding pass.

By the time she came back, Rose and I had done some shopping and put together a care package for Patience to take on the plane - magazines, a DS, some music.

Over the PA, we heard Patience's flight was boarding and we couldn't delay it any longer.

I know Patience hasn't lived at home with us for a couple of years now but being an hour away at university is completely different to being on the other side of the world. I already can't wait for her to come home but I have a feeling this year is going to pass very slowly.
Extra pic:
I hardly ever do the snuggle but it's really sweet. I still love Chris - he's a great mix of Kendal and Lake.

Notes:
  • Title is from Caring is Creepy by The Shins.
  • I'm actually quite sad myself at the thought of Kendal being widowed again! I really love these two together. They don't even need to be doing much, I just really like watching them.
  • This continues Patience's ROS for this round. I have, thankfully, finally figured out what I'm going to do for this trip. I've attached a second university to Sullivan and have used these lots. I stumbled across them when I was still unsure exactly how I was going to do this. It was very easy to move Patience out of her dorm and into one of the beach dorms at Cape Elizabeth University through the family bin. The only problem I've run into is that my playable students are showing up on the community lots but I can quite easily ban them (plus the more recognisable dormies) with Visitor Controller, so that's not a major issue. Patience better pass because this year abroad is costing Lake $8000!
  • Let's pretend that Lachance International has extremely lax security and non-passengers are allowed through to the gates! Sydney Airport was like that in 2006, at least for domestic flights (it's no longer like that), so it's not totally out of the realm of possibility!

13 comments:

  1. Poor Kendal, it doesn't seem too likely that Lake will outlive her. Rotten luck to be widowed twice in a life, but she's gotten good years in with Lake, and hopefully he's around a lot longer!

    Chris is a good mix of the two, and I agree with Lake, no more babies! Kendal is great with her boys.

    I hope things go well for Patience at Cape Elizabeth. I really like those lots, I found them a bit back but had no purpose for them. I'm looking forward to seeing them in action and how everything plays out for Patience.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, I just noticed how Kendal sinks down into the couch when she's sitting. I've never noticed that on my Piper, and I think they're both the same height, or close. Piper is 0.95, how tall is Kendal? I'll have to have a closer look next time I play her ;)

    But anyway...

    Awww, I'm sad that she'll lose him someday too. But of course, with their ages, that's a very real possibility... or really, eventuality :( Even if she knew that from the start, she probably wasn't thinking about it then.

    And good luck to Patience! I'm excited for her, and I can't wait to see the new university in action! And that looks like it'll be a really fun place to study! :)

    I used to run into that same problem when I played more than one regular uni. Do you have the university set up on as a vacation hood or a university hood? I can't remember ever seeing a playable walk by at my Takemizu Academy, but that's in a vacation hood.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can't wait to see what Patience gets into. I don't want to even think about Lake and Kendal...maybe a sim will discover some magic juice that somehow extends life! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awww, I love the snuggle too. It's so cute!!

    Kendal and Lake are cute, definitely a huge age gap, but they make it work. I can understand Lake not giving in the whole kid thing. At their ages, it's probably best to just leave it be... nevermind that Lake's days are getting numbered. :(

    Chris is definitely a good mix of his parents!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kendall, did you forget about grandchildren?? You're almost middle-aged; you should be enjoying your twilight years.

    Thanks for the uni link. I just might use it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks everybody!

    Maisie, assuming Lake lives long enough to see Kendal become an elder, if she happens to get a shorter lifespan, it might be him who is widowed. I'll be so sad about it either way though. I love these two!

    I was so excited to find those lots. I really wasn't sure how I was going to swing this whole exchange thing but I think this will work out well.

    Laura, Kendal is actually shorter than Piper then - she (and also Cara Moretti) is 0.92. The clipping and sinking is a little annoying, especially seeing her feet sort of sink into the ground sometimes too, but it's so adorable that I put up with it!

    I don't think Lake or Kendal were thinking about their age difference when they got together or even when they got married. The only time it's really been an issue for them was when deciding to have children. Lake was pretty much done after Patience and now has a pretty consistent fear of having a baby and Kendal still feels like she could take on another one. I am putting my foot down though. She's got three kids already and they have 5 between them. That's enough!

    I'm redecorating the lots slightly, because they're all Maxis-y. It does look like a fun place to study, so let's hope Patience actually gets some study done!

    CEU is a uni hood. When I saw Troy wandering into a shop when I sent Patience down to buy some new clothes, I briefly wondered if I should have set it up as a vacation hood instead. But I wanted the uni interactions without messing with those uni anywhere hacks and I get playables showing up on my vacation lots all the time anyway, so I think that would have eventually been a bigger problem. Not only would I have seen my uni students wandering around but also possibly Lake, Kendal and countless other Sims from my main hood.

    Apple Valley, me either! I'm still deciding how I'm going to structure her updates but I'll probably do one update in autumn for the first semester and then one in spring for the second.

    If only I was not opposed to the elixir! Lake and Kendal would be getting some, for sure, LOL!

    Mao, yeah, I think Lake is right to say no to another baby. Kendal's no spring chicken herself, although she's much younger than Lake.

    One of my favourite couples though, seriously. I'm so proud of them that they did it all themselves. They both probably would have stayed boring and single if they'd left it up to me, LOL!

    Laurel, I don't think Kendal has even thought about the fact that she could be a grandmother in a few years! Calvin's in a steady relationship and Troy is Family, so he won't want to wait long to have kids (once he finally finds a girlfriend!). And once Rose and Joanna get married and start a family, she'll be the step-grandmother to those kids. I think she'll be glad they didn't have another baby in 10 years time! She'll have plenty to occupy herself with.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love Kendal and Lake too so it's sad to see one of them go. Hopefully they still have many years left. I agree with everyone who says no more babies though.

    I can't wait to see Patience at CEU. It sounds like a lot of fun.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sari, no more Kendal and Lake babies if I can help it! She's on birth control. But then again, we all know how well birth control seems to work in Sullivan!

    I'm excited to get going with Patience but I've got to play through my summer updates first. :D

    ReplyDelete
  9. Poor Kendal, I can understand that she doesn't like the idea of Lake going first, nut I'm afraid that's most likely to happen.
    I think it'w wise from Lake to say no to another baby. He's not the youngest anymore, and to be honest neither is Kendal.

    Chris really is adorable!

    Good luck to Patience

    ReplyDelete
  10. Tanja, I know, I'm already sad about it and it hasn't even happened yet! I know exactly when Lake is going to die, so I'll have to steel myself for when he does!

    And yeah, even Kendal would be in her 60s by the time the kid grows up. Which is not too bad but not ideal either.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I feel like I keep ogling your sims, but Lake is one very handsome elder. The hair and the beard work really well on him.

    Awww... I actually enjoy seeing the two of them together. It's very realistic of him to think about the day he won't make it. I know a couple in RL that are separated by a good amount of years, and he's always thinking about the future. He keeps telling her to find someone else when he passes, and she doesn't want to think about it.

    In a way, Kendal's need for a baby can almost be seen as stemming from her own fears of loosing him.

    Oh man-- I think I'm doing a Laura and writing stories in my head again, lol!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm also looking forward to seeing Patience at CEU.

    It's true what Laura commented the other day, that sometimes the secondary aspiration seems to take over. Kendal wants more babies, for example! You are so right, when the grandchildren start coming she'll be very busy with them. At least it will help console her when Lake does pass away. I for one, am hoping he lives a LONG time.

    PS, Your airport and your soccer field are great!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lunar, well, if you keep ogling my Sims, I'll feel better about ogling yours, so ogle away. ;)

    Lake is one of the only Sims I've had who actually looks better as an elder than he did as an adult.I'm pretty glad I did surgery on him well before he met Ottilie. He was...not good looking.

    And that's definitely at least part of why Kendal wants another baby. It would be like another piece of Lake that she could have once he's gone and she'd feel just that little bit less alone too. She mustn't realise Calvin is such a mama's boy though, because there's no way he'd leave her alone in that house after Lake dies. He'll move her in with him and Aaron, I think, or at least very close by.

    Francesca, oh, yes, those secondary aspirations are almost like primary aspirations sometimes! I suspect as soon as Kendal gets her first grandchild, she'll want another one. Once she figures out how nice it is to be able to give them back!

    I already know how long Lake has left so I won't give anything away but I'll just say that I will be very happy if he lives a long time too.

    The airport is actually a set of 6 lots from MTS but I only used one here. All together, the lots look awesome from neighbourhood view.

    I don't know where the soccer field came from but I can't take credit for that either. It's a makeover of the Spark! Sports Park from FT though.

    ReplyDelete