Saturday 4 February 2012

Truly great thing

Round 33: February 2037 (Summer)

LinkSusannah Carmody is 27 and Zac Whitney is 3.
(Kimberly is 66, Sarah is 32, Rebecca is 28, Sam is 27, Audrey is 25 and Catherine is 3)

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Narrated by Susannah Carmody

Sam and I had a few awkward months of living together once we broke up but for over a year now, it’s been just me and Zac.

I’m disappointed things didn’t work out with me and Sam, because it would have been nice for Zac to have both parents together. But I wasn’t in love with him and I’m now positive I made the right decision to end things.

I was pleasantly surprised at my mother’s reaction. I really did think she’d gloat, because she never liked Sam and she was never shy about telling me.

I don’t think she would have been quite as supportive if Sam had dumped me - that would have just given her another reason to dislike him. But as it is, she’s been fantastic.

Things are a lot better between me and Mama as a result. It’s a relief to not constantly be butting heads with her any more.

She has been mercifully silent about Sam. No questions about his job or anything else and no criticism. I don’t want Zac to hear anything negative about his dad, so that’s exactly what I want from Mama.

These days, it seems like she’s on the same page with me. She just likes to make sure Zac and I are doing okay.

And we are. Zac and I aren’t doing too bad on our own.

Zac was still so young when Sam and I split, so he doesn’t remember things being any different.

It’s harder for me, I think. If Zac feels like throwing a tantrum, I’m the only one around to deal with it.

I’m thankful that his tantrums are few and far between. He’s a really good boy most of the time.

Zac still sees his dad every single weekend. Sam picks him up on Friday afternoons, before I leave for work and takes him for two nights.

Zac loves his dad so much and I know he enjoys every second of his visits.

They do so many fun things together. Sam’s taken him to the aquarium a few times, which Zac cannot get enough of.

Even though I know Zac is having a great time, I still dread the weekends. The house is so quiet without Zac around.

I really miss him when he’s not here. I don’t know what to do with myself until Sam brings him back on Sunday afternoons.

I’m glad that things are amicable enough between me and Sam that the pick-ups and drop-offs aren’t too awkward. Sometimes Sam even stays for a coffee before he gets going.

I admit though, that things are a little bit weirder now that he’s dating someone. I’m not jealous but it’s still strange to think of him with somebody else.

He told me last weekend that he and Julia are talking about getting a place together, within the next few months.

That surprised me but it’s been going well between them. It’s the next natural step.

He wanted to run it by me, seeing Zac will be seeing Julia a lot more than he does now. When he goes to see his dad, he’ll be going to see her as well.

I actually feel okay about that. Julia has kind of a reputation for being a bit nuts in our social circle but she’s always been fine with me.

Most importantly, Sam says she and Zac really get along too.

Audrey and Rebecca took me out the next weekend, to celebrate my 27th birthday and I told them Sam and Julia’s news.

Predictably, Rebecca was horrified and thought I should “put a stop to it”.

I don’t think I’ll be doing that. I trust Sam’s judgement. He wouldn’t do anything he thought would upset Zac in any way.

Rebecca is not quite rational when it comes to Julia anyway. She’s one of the loudest voices proclaiming Julia’s craziness but Rebecca can hold a grudge just as well as Julia can.

I think they probably have more in common than she would care to admit. It’s best not to dwell too much on Julia when Rebecca is around though, so fortunately, we had plenty else to talk about!

I got a promotion to sous chef recently, so it was sort of a double celebration. It’s going to mean more money coming in, which is very welcome.

Sam is awesome about child support but neither of us make a ton of money. It’s still hard to make ends meet most months.

I was very jealous when Audrey told me about Jack’s trust fund, which is going to let them buy a house together, with probably a good bit left over as well.

He won't have access to the money until the day he turns 25, which is not for a couple of months. But still, that is so exciting!

I would love to be in a position to own my own place one day. It’d be so nice to not have to worry about rent any more. Not to mention to be able to paint the walls or put up wallpaper! As nice as my landlord is, she doesn't allow tenants to change too much of the decor.

It would be a challenge to save for a house on my salary but I’m hoping this won’t always be a single income family. I would still really love to get married in the future.

Things didn’t work out with Sam but I’m still a romantic. Sarah’s been married for almost seven years now and she and Nick are so happy. I hope I can have that one day.

Zac would love a little brother or sister too, based on what he’s like when Catherine comes over.

They’re only a few months apart, so they have a fantastic time together. He’d really enjoy having a playmate around all the time.

Plus, Sarah and I are so close and it’s been so valuable to have someone who shares all your childhood experiences and memories with you. I want Zac to have that too.

So when I go on a date with someone, I keep all that in mind. I don’t tell them all that upfront but I do mention Zac. Some of them go pale just hearing I have a kid.

That’s usually a good sign things aren’t going to work out. Zac and I are a package deal and I need someone who’s okay with it.

I don’t want to jinx it but I think I might have finally found somebody like that. His name is Daniel and we’ve been out a few times so far.

I always internally cringe before I tell guys about Zac, hoping they won’t freak out. Daniel was surprised but I don't think he was too bothered, thankfully.

Every time we talk, we always seem to find something else we have in common. Daniel majored in art at university, just like I did.

He eventually wants to get his Master’s and become an architect, like Sarah did. Not only that, but at the moment, he happens to be working on a construction site for a building she designed!

He’s just a really lovely guy. We can talk for so long, with no awkward pauses or anything. Daniel is kind of a brain, so he seems to know a lot about everything.

I haven’t let Daniel meet Zac yet. It’s a bit early for that, so Daniel’s mostly been keeping me company on the weekends, when Zac is with Sam.

Things are going well though, so who knows? If our relationship heads the way I’m hoping it will, maybe I’ll introduce them sooner rather than later.

Extras:

No, your eyes are not deceiving you; Zac does look completely different than he did last round. What happened was that before Sam and Susannah got together, I did genetic plastic surgery on him to remove his Goopy-like features. Recently, I tried to change his hair in the mirror and found that when I did that, his face went all Goopy-like again (the same thing happened to Zane and Chloe).

So I remade them all and while I was at it, I grew Zac up to see if he actually looked anything like Sam. No. No, he didn't. So I made a new Zac with CAS clones of Sam and Susannah. Old Zac must have inherited Sam's original Goopy face but this Zac is a proper mix of Sam and Susannah's genetics. And is much cuter, if I do say so myself. Here is some spam!
Don't mind those two weirdos in the matching dresses in the background. They are out there constantly, always on the swing. I find it a little unsettling, honestly.

Notes:
  • Title is from Truly Great Thing by Sebadoh.
  • Ugh, I am so glad to just get this update out! I would have had it up two days ago, if not for my desperation to "save time", which always ends up wasting time. It's way too boring to go into but I'm very relieved to be finished with this!
  • Susannah rolled the You Deserve Better! ROS this round. I think this was the first time I rolled that one for a single Sim. Anyway, I was always planning to let her start dating again this round but I was going to let her date around a bit more, rather than pairing her up with her highest chemistry match right away. But the ROS thought differently, so along comes Daniel. He's a CAS Sim I turned into a townie a long, long, long time ago. The attraction score is 119, so they have 3 bolts.
  • There are lots of complications when dating with children but being that Susannah is a very optimistic type, I don't think she'd dwell on them too much. She'd worry about them when/if they crop up. ;)
  • Julia and Sam have been together for almost a year now, so I'm going to move them in together. And add them to the play schedule! I forgot to do that at the beginning of the round. I'm not going to do the same living arrangements I did with Nick with Zac, where I had him living one year with Abigail and one with Caleb. A visitation set-up seems much more realistic.

29 comments:

  1. Love the first shot of Susannah and Zac. It's adorable. I hope things work out with Daniel. Of course, I'm biased since that's my Hubby's name. :)

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    1. I have my fingers crossed for Susannah and Daniel too. So far so good - they seem to really like each other. We'll see how he gets along with Zac, when they finally meet.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  2. Finally caught up! Yay!

    I'm happy that Susannah is finding a nice boy again. It seems long deserved. I am surprised that she took Sam's news a bit well about moving in with Julia. Better that then being completely crazed, I guess.

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    1. I decided on Susannah's reaction to Sam and Julia by checking her relationship with Julia. It's 100/100. I don't always consider that "friends" for story purposes, because it's so easy to get to that point but I figured that she at least had mostly positive feelings towards Julia. And Susannah is an optimist, so she's pretty likely to try to see things in a positive light anyway. :) She's not the crazed type, lol!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  3. Glad she got back out in the dating world, ti's a challenge dating with children, but I'm sure she'll be fine.

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    1. Well, Susannah's found one guy who's okay with her having a child, so let's hope she can hold onto him. ;) She and Daniel are having fun together so far.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  4. I just love Susannah! I'm glad she's not with Sam anymore, even though poor Zac has to be split between 2 houses now. But I hope she finds true love. It still must have been hard for her to see Sam moving on first. And the new Zac is definitely a cutie-pie!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Susannah and Sam weren't a good match but it was still a surprise to me when the thought came into my head that they should split. I wasn't planning on it, originally but I think they're both better off now.

      Sam moving on first would have been a shock, especially seeing he was the dumpee. But he's much more outgoing than Susannah is, so it's not surprising she'd want to take her time.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  5. A 'real' shedule for kids traveling between parents is much more realistic, that's why I did it with Bethany as well, and she seems fine with it.
    I do love seeing Zac with his dad, I especially loved them at the aquarium.
    I understand Susannah feels a little bit lonely during weekends when Zac is with his dad, but she has some good friends it seems to get her mind of it :)

    I hope things with Daniel work out!

    I have to say, Zac is still a cutie, but I love him even more now, after his 'remake' :)

    I love Susannah's outfit, and her pj's, I gues you know where I'm going, but do you remember where you got them?

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    1. I have to admit, I was probably partly inspired by your Bethany! I'm still glad I did it the way I did with Nick though - it made him and Caleb so close. Hopefully Sam and Zac will be able to forge a close relationship anyway.

      Susannah has her friends and Daniel to keep her occupied now, while she's missing Zac on the weekends. I have high hopes for her and Daniel but we'll see!

      I'll check Susannah's PJs and her top and jeans next time I'm in game. Off the top of my head, I have no clue where I got them from!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
    2. Okay, here's the top:
      http://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/agaliha5/downloads/details/category/sims2-sets/title/polkadot-croptop/id/460298/

      These are the PJs:
      http://lianasims2.net/preview.php?cat=fashion&id=187&age=Adult&section=Pijamas

      No info on the jeans but you probably have something similar enough. They're skinnies with ballet flats. I'm pretty sure I got them from someone at MTS.

      Delete
    3. Thanks for looking it up for me! The top is really cute. I do have some jeans in my downloadsfolder that will be nice under them. It seems I won't need that though, since it's a full outfit :)

      The PJs are really cute!

      Thanks again!

      Delete
    4. Oh, the TSR one is a whole outfit? Hmmm, Susannah's is just a top, I know that for sure. Someone must have made separated tops out of the TSR outfit - I wish I knew who!

      Delete
  6. If I'd picture very well a single mom, it was Susannah. It's incredible how she's always smiling! She's an optimistic kind! And new romance in the air...

    (I did it, I caught up!!!! I did dream about your Sims again (not surprising after having spent so much time on your blog last night!), but as I was woken up by phone, I freaked out and forgot it all. :(
    But your Sims are really the ones I'm dreaming about (with my own, of course, but this is totally normal... I hope... :D)

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    1. Susannah is a really upbeat person, so she's lucky she's been able to take all her bad luck and just dust herself off and keep going. :) She's got the same attitude about Daniel, so fingers crossed it'll work out for them.

      And yay, you're caught up! It was more like a Sullivan weekend than a Sullivan week, lol!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  7. Oh, I hope Susannah has found someone, it must be quite lonely for her. I'm glad they are able to remain amicable for Zac's sake, some parents just can't seem to get that part right!

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    1. Being alone with a toddler most of the time would be pretty isolating. But Susannah is doing a good job with Zac and now that she has Daniel, the time without Zac will drag a little less. ;)

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  8. LOL at the weirdos in the background.

    Good for Susannah for getting out there and not letting the break up with Sam keep her back. She deserves just as much happiness as he does.

    Zac really is a cutey.

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    1. That's Susannah's optimism at play. She wouldn't let a break-up keep her down for long, even though she's had some pretty crappy luck with men in her life. I hope she and Daniel can form something special together (hopefully not a baby...at least not yet, lol!).

      New Zac is definitely an improvement on Old Zac. Especially thinking about what Old Zac looked like when he grew up!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  9. Aww, it's nice that Susannah met a guy that doesn't run at the first sign of children. :) I'm excited to see where it all goes.

    I hope it all works out, especially with the new Julia/Sam thing--while she didn't object to Julia, Sam may not be okay with a new man in her life (and in his son's life)...

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    1. I think Daniel is destined for Family secondary, if/when I make him playable. ;) I have my fingers crossed for him and Susannah, because she seems to really like him.

      But true, Sam might bristle a bit seeing Susannah with someone else, even though he's also moved on (and before Susannah did too). I'll probably have him meet Daniel and see how they get along, in order to see how he might feel about this new relationship.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  10. Awww, this was such a sweet update all around. I'm so happy to see Susannah hopeful after everything, because that must be hard to do. But she and Sam gave it a shot, and I'm glad to see they're still friends. And that her mom isn't giving her a hard time over it.

    Wow, Sam and Julia though, lol! I love Rebecca's reaction!

    It broke my heart to see Susannah slighted by those other guys for Zac, but Daniel seems like a good catch! I hope he makes her happy!

    New Zac is adorable, and I'm glad you gave him his parents' proper genetics.

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    1. This update was a lot happier than Susannah's last update, that's for sure. Maybe Kimberly could see Sam wasn't right for her daughter? I hope she likes Daniel a little better because Susannah is pretty keen on him at the moment.

      Julia's reputation is irredeemably shot with Rebecca, lol! But the feeling us more than mutual, so I doubt Julia is losing any sleep about it.

      New Zac grows up so much cuter than Old Zac And he'll look like his dad to boot. I'm definitely glad I went to all that effort with it. It was annoying but worth it.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  11. ooh This is another perfect ROS. I personally like to see Susannah find someone, felt sort of bad for her just mulling around her empty house with no Zac, while Sam was going to be playing house with Julia. Just made her seem like an old spinster, and Susannah is not that! I can see her wanting another one too for Zac to play with, hopefully she'll get a little boy, so they can be buds. I like the arrangement you have going here, and I'm glad you went to all that effort to save Sam and remake Zac, he definitely looks like his Daddy now, and is very, very cute, just as Susannah's baby should be!

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    1. The ROS worked out nicely for Susannah, didn't it? She's young, so she should be enjoying herself and I think she is, with Daniel. :) I think Sam and Susannah breaking up has worked out better for both of them than it would have if they'd stayed together.

      I would love Susannah to give Zac a sibling and she's already very keen herself. I think he'd be a good, protective older brother for a sister as well, so I'd be happy either way with that.

      Thanks for reading!

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  12. Boy have i missed a lot! Nice reconstruction surgery you did on Zac, just as precious as ever. Im rooting for Susannah and Daniel. I know how it can be going on dates as a single mother. Great update!

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    1. Welcome back! I think Zac is looking much cuter these days. :) I hope Susannah and Daniel can go the distance as well. Susannah's not the type to enjoy the dating scene, so she'll be happier in a stable, long-term relationship. :)

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  13. I’m glad Susannah has found someone she really connects with. “I hope she and Daniel can form something special together (hopefully not a baby...at least not yet, lol!).” LOL! Hopefully they’ll be more careful. And yes, new Zac is definitely cuter than old Zac. I’m glad you realized it and fixed him while he’s still young.

    I’m so glad things are looking up for Susannah with the new romance and the promotion. I’ve always liked her and how optimistic she is.

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    1. Yeah, definitely not wanting another baby for Susannah just yet! I think Daniel is neat enough to be allowed BC, so they should hopefully be pretty safe. They haven't actually done the deed yet. ;)

      I am seriously so happy I fixed Zac. I really hesitated, because I'd already played him with his old face but I'm comfortable with my decision now! He looks the way he should look now.

      I really enjoy Susannah's optimism as well. She's such a sunny person and she doesn't let anything get down for too long. :)

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete