Paint's peeling

Round 31: April 2033 (Autumn)

last update/next update

Lake Draper is 76 and Kendal is 57.
(Rose is 38, Patience and Josie are both 31, Troy is 30, Sylvia is 7, Jude is 9 months old and Levi and Will are both 4 months old)

Narrated by Lake Draper

Since I retired a couple of years ago, my time truly is my own now and I love it. Especially now that Kendal and I are empty-nesters.

I had kids in the house continuously for 37 years so for me, this has been a very welcome change.

When Chris first went off to college though, Kendal wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. She had some trouble adjusting to the idea of none of our kids being at home with us any more.

I decided to use distraction as a means to help her and booked us some tickets to visit our vacation home in Takemizu.

Kendal wasn't too keen on the idea at first. What if Chris needed her?

But we haven't been on holiday since our honeymoon and that was almost 20 years ago now. I didn't have to twist her arm too hard.

The house is wonderful but very small. It was always going to be something for me and Kendal to enjoy on our own.

The first thing Kendal wanted was a massage.

So while she did that, I had something to eat.

We tried to enjoy the hot springs after Kendal's massage but were interrupted by some pretty heavy rain.

The rain didn't really let up for the whole vacation, so we did a lot of shopping and picked up some souvenirs for the grandkids.

Not quite what either of us were hoping for but I think the trip did us both good regardless.

Once we were home, Kendal systematically called each of the kids, just to make sure they were all fine without us.

Kendal really worries mostly about Chris. It's his first time on his own but I think he's coping better than Kendal is.

Between us, we've sent four kids away to college and they all survived. There's no reason to think Chris won't do just as well.

Kendal still thinks of Chris as her baby, so it's tough for her. He's smart though, and he'll be okay.

She's a lot better now than she was when Chris first left though. Our other kids and their families are keeping us more than busy these days.

Especially now that Troy and Josie come over more often. I hinted to Troy that the unannounced visits Kendal was making might ease off if we got more visits here at home.

Josie was getting annoyed with the constant visits but now, she and Kendal are getting along much better.

Kendal was just so excited about her new grandson and she didn't stop to think that popping in unannounced might be a bother.

It's hard not to fall in love with Jude. I think of him as my grandson as well.

Kendal has always done the same with my granddaughter, Sylvia. They're very close.

I was thrilled when Rose had her twins, Will and Levi, last Christmas but I think Kendal might have been even more excited. Sylvia was the only grandchild for a long time and then we got three more, in just six months.

I've never been the type of guy to long for grandchild after grandchild, but I have to admit, I really enjoy having them all over.

Come July, we'll have one more, when Patience is due with her first child. She's not able to visit us at the moment, so we go to her in Exeter.

She's been put on complete bedrest, after experiencing some early contractions. Apart from being a little bored, she's been okay since then, so hopefully, she'll be able to carry this baby to term.

Patience is being very good at following the doctor's orders but Rob's taking good care of her in the meantime anyway. He's home with her as much as possible and even has lunch there when he can.

I trust Rob but we're all still nervous about this pregnancy. I certainly hope there's no more drama for Patience - she's had more than her share in the past year or so.

Notes:

• Title is from Paint's Peeling by Rilo Kiley.
• Once she gets all of her romantic wants for Lake out of the way, Kendal is almost solely concerned with Chris. It must feel a bit smothering to him but she misses her baby. It's quite sweet.
• Lake had the want to go to his vacation home, to which I thought "you have a vacation home?!" I did not remember buying it for them at all but obviously, they have one. And can I just say there is nothing more demotivating than entering a house you think is decorated nicely and it's actually decorated with Maxis base game crap. :\ Seriously, I would rather have opened the lot and found it completely empty. So that's why you can't see the rest of the house - I only did the bedroom. ;)