Head south

Round 28: Summer 2027

last update/next update

Trent Kirby is 57 and Megan is 55.
(Claudia, Jacob, Finn and Victoria are all 26, Declan is 6 and Caitlin is 4)

Narrated by Megan Kirby

I thought the house was quiet once Victoria and Claudia left for college but that was nothing compared to how quiet it is now that Rebecca is gone too.

I'm really missing her right now but I don't think she's missing us much. I wish she'd call more often.

Trent says once a week is more than he ever called his parents when he went away to college, so we should thank ourselves lucky.

We've both been keeping ourselves very busy.

I don't usually help out with the crops but I have so much extra time on my hands, that I've lent a hand a couple of times. I still hate doing it, I've discovered.

Arianna runs the market for Trent full time, so really, he wouldn't ever need to go in except to restock.

He enjoys it though, so Trent is still there a few days a week.

We've had more date nights than we've had in years lately, since we've had the house to ourselves.

I guess we could have done it while Rebecca was still at home but somehow, we never found the time. But now, it seems ridiculous not to.

It's been quite wonderful to be able to go out to dinner and go dancing.

I'd love to go out every night!

Maybe we'll have even more time to do things like that when Claudia takes over the market. She and Trent agreed a long time ago that the business would pass down to her.

They've never really discussed a timeframe though, so I don't know when it will actually happen. Claudia's always said "when Dad gets older".

Right now, Claudia is an intern at Town Hall. She just fell into the job after college, really, but more and more, she's starting to think that it might be something she could stay with long term.

I can't say I ever imagined Claudia going into politics but she seems to really like it, so I'm glad for her.

I wish Jacob would find something he was passionate about. He's working as a host at a restaurant and isn't really sure what else he can do. He's got a college degree, so there must be plenty of things he can do!

He's not my son though, so I'm trying to stay out of it.

I came home from work the other afternoon to discover Trent putting up this blue and yellow monstrosity in the backyard.

Needless to say, I was unimpressed. You could see it from the street! Trent said I was being silly, because we live in a farm house, not a mansion. He could have at least chosen some more tasteful colours.

I couldn't stay annoyed for long because he was so excited about it. He bought it especially for Declan and Caitlin.

Now that Caitlin is older, Trent and I often have both the kids over to stay the night. They love running around in our backyard, which is something they don't get to do at home.

And they really love the camp-outs with Trent too, so I've had to give in on the tent. Even though I still think it's hideous.

I'm not the outdoor type, so I leave that activity for Trent and the kids to bond over and we do other things together in the morning.

Once everyone is awake, pancakes for breakfast are a must.

Declan loves our telescope. When Finn and Victoria move to a house, we'll buy him his own for his birthday. They don't have space for a telescope right now, so you can barely tear Declan away from the thing when he's over.

Caitlin's not too interested in the telescope but she's fascinated by anything to do with food.

We've been making chocolates on Brandon's old machine the last few times she's come over. I say "we" but it's really "I". Caitlin just watches but I can tell she's taking it all in.

I was never able to get any of my daughters interested in cooking, so I'm glad I can pass all my recipes onto my granddaughter at least. I can't wait until she's old enough to do more than watch me make lunch for everybody.

It'll be nice to have another pair of hands. There's a lot of food to be made to feed six people but I always love it when any of our kids come to visit.

The relationship between me and Victoria is improving, slowly but surely.

We do better when I'm not giving her any unsolicited advice, so I'm trying to avoid that. It does mean I have to bite my tongue sometimes but I have to keep reminding myself that she's 26 and can make her own decisions now.

I really wish she and Finn would reconsider putting off moving house though! They really need more space than they have, especially now the kids are older.

Extras:
Hmm, Megan doesn't look very impressed with Jacob juggling her espresso cups! Shouldn't she be biting his head off?

(click to enlarge)

Ah. So maybe that's why Megan is easier on Jacob than Finn! She's got one bolt with Finn and three with Jacob. And Jacob's her second highest chemistry ranking too. Jacob has three bolts with about a gazillion women but I thought it was quite funny that his girlfriend's uptight mother was one of them!

Yes, more Caitlin and Declan pictures, for no reason at all! It's so easy to get cookie-cutter looking kids, or complete freaks in this game but I love that these two are interesting looking and adorable!

Notes:

• Title is from Head South by Modest Mouse.
• So I decided I might start trying to play and update on my empty nesters again. For one thing, I felt like I'd actually miss Trent and Megan if I stopped playing them. But also, playing them gives me one extra slot in the schedule to continue any family stories that might have started when playing their kids' houses. I actually had much more fun than I thought I would with Trent and Megan, so I might try to do this more often.
• Trent had the want to buy a tent, so I thought he could have a little camp-out with Caitlin and Declan. Only two Sims can fit in a tent though (which is lame, because the one time I went camping, we had three people in a tent much smaller than that), so Trent actually slept on a bench outside! It's one of those safety things that makes no difference in the game that I still must adhere to - I wouldn't let a 6 year-old and a 4 year-old sleep alone outside, so my Sims won't either!
• I'm not sure when Claudia will move in and take over the farm and market. Trent becomes an elder next round (when did THAT happen?! And how can Claudia and Victoria be 26?!? I actually had to double check that to make sure I wasn't wrong) so maybe sometime after that.
• I think Finn can probably relax a little about Megan, because she actually rolls little wants for him every now and then now, which is kind of sweet. And she doesn't stick her fingers in her ears and yawn when he tries to talk to her now!