Monday 9 February 2015

One by one

Round 35: July 2042 (Winter)

Araminta Romilly is 79, Finn and Victoria are 41 and Keira is 11. 
(Claudia is 41, Eddie and Jessica are 22, Declan is 21, Caitlin is 19 and Daphne is 11)

Narrated by Victoria Romilly


At the beginning of the year, Finn started his position as principal of the high school and it’s been going really well.

He used to rely on the carpool to get him to work at the primary school but now he can just walk. The school is only a couple of blocks away from our house.

It’s not as if we were destitute before but the pay bump he received has been really nice. 

We've been using some of that money to go out on more dates, seeing we haven’t done a ton of that for most of our marriage. 

Having Declan and Caitlin so young kind of put a dampener on our prime dating time, so we try to make up for it when we can. 

Finn is really happy at the high school level. He was slightly concerned about stagnating at the primary school. Finn is someone who has a lot of drive to advance, so moving up to principal was a good move for him.

He also remembers most of the kids from when he taught them in primary school, so he has a built-in rapport already.

He’s tough on them but he really believes students respect that and I think he’s right.

Keira will be one of his students next year, which is hard to imagine.

She’s 11, as is Daphne, so Claudia and I get to quietly freak out together about how old our kids are getting.

It’s the first time for Claudia, so she’s freaking out just a little more than I am!

We’re glad they’re starting together though and that Finn will be there and able to keep a close eye on them. 

They’re both pretty good kids though and I don’t see either of them getting into any serious trouble. 

Claudia and her family still live in the farmhouse we grew up in, which is quite a way to travel on a weeknight, so if Daphne comes over after school (which happens once a week or so), we end up with an overnight guest.

The girls sleep in Caitlin’s old room, in the big bed. They used to stay up too late giggling but they’re pretty sensible now, once they know it’s bed time. 

Being so much younger than Declan and Caitlin, I love that Keira and Daphne are so close in age. It’s worked out so well.

They’re close enough that it’s almost like they’re sisters anyway. They hang out together as often as we let them.

Keira is about as close as she can be with Declan and Caitlin too, considering the age gap and the fact that they’re both living away from home now. She likes being the only kid at home but she’s always really excited when the older kids come home for a visit too.

Declan will be graduating at the end of the year and Finn and I are so excited for him. 

He’s going to be rooming with Austin and Xavier. I’m guessing the boys will be looking around for somewhere in Exeter, so they’ll hopefully be pretty close to home when they finally get settled.

I’m sure the fact that Jessica lives in Exeter with her roomies will make it a slightly more appealing location for Declan. 

Declan is so busy right now. They’re heading into the final semester at uni now and he has a ton of work to do. 

He’s also going to do his Master’s next year, so he’s not looking to stop studying any time soon.

Caitlin has two years to go at uni but she is already certain that will be it for her. She’s a psych major and she wants to go into social work once she graduates, which she won’t need extra study for. 

She has friends planning to do post-graduate study once they finish and she thinks they’re all insane. 

I think Araminta was a tiny bit disappointed in that. Before Caitlin went away to school, she was tossing up a few different career options, one of them being events planning, Araminta’s old line of work.

Araminta was a little thrilled at the prospect of her granddaughter following in her footsteps, which is now not going to happen. 

Of course, she’s proud of Caitlin anyway, as we all are.

I think Finn is just relieved she’s settled on something. The uncertainty was frustrating for him and the fact that it didn’t seem to worry Caitlin at all stressed him out.

I knew she’d figure it out eventually but Finn is the kind of person who likes to have all his ducks in a row as soon as he can. He really doesn’t understand people who aren’t like that. 

Caitlin started dating a new guy over the summer, who she brought around to meet us last week. 

She’s dated before but Eddie is the first guy who has officially come over for a “meet the parents” thing. The guy before Eddie was Brendan and we’d known him since he and Caitlin were tiny.

Eddie seems like a really sweet guy. He’s older than Caitlin and is already working as a firefighter, though they did originally meet on campus last year, when he was a senior.

He was very friendly and I can tell he’s really fond of Caitlin, so that’s basically all I can ask for.

Finn made a concerted effort to not be too much of a scary dad, because he always hated how hard my mum was on him when we were younger. Caitlin looked mortified most of the time anyway!

Finn did really like Eddie though, so she doesn’t have too much to worry about there. 

Caitlin and Eddie seem very happy together, though I’m hoping they’re not getting too serious just yet. She’s still only 19 and she has plenty of time for all that. 

Notes:
  • Title is from One By One by Wilco.
  • There are two pictures in the second half of this that aren't showing up for me. They show up when I go to the direct link, so I'm hoping it's just a temporary thing. Apologies if they're still not showing up for you!
  • I think that's the first I've shown of the high school on the blog. On the outside, it looks very similar to the high school I'd started building before I embarked on my rebuild but the inside is mostly empty. I tried to shoot around that but I think you can kind of tell there's nothing inside if you look closely enough!
  • The next update will be Eddie, Mitchell and Tim, so there'll be a bit more Caitlin then. We'll see what happens with them. So far, there's no sign either of them wants to run off and get married, so Victoria can relax. ;)



14 comments:

  1. I'm excited to see your high school once it's ready! I'm sure I'll want to redo mine when I see yours, but I kind of like mine as well. I am thinking about redoing it a little bit though, add some things and such, I just don't feel inspired at the moment.

    It's nice to see that Finn and Victoria now have more time to go on dates. I can see they missed out on that with having kids so early. It's good they take the opportunity now.
    I was surprised to find out Keira is 11 already! I thought she was younger! I can't wait to see her as a teen though!

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    1. Oooh, it's going to be a while! I'm currently not very inspired but I think I'll start by downloading some CC that I need and hopefully that will prompt me to get going again. :) I do really want to finish it but at this point, I'd kind of just like to click my fingers and have it done the way I want it!

      I can't picture Finn using the money to go on a holiday - it's a bit extravagant for a frugal sim like him - but more dates is doable. They're having fun with that. LOL, maybe it's just me who has been counting the days until I can age Keira up! She's so unfortunate looking and I know she looks so much better as a teen and I just can't wait!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. All the pictures are showing up for me, as best as I can tell. I'm glad to get a peek at the new high school even if it isn't finished. And I am so happy for Finn to be the high school principal! Although it may be difficult to ever get all the ducks in a row there, I'm sure he'll be great. It is true, it will really help that he built rapport with the kids when they were younger.

    It is just hard for me to believe Finn and Victoria's little Declan and Caitlin are practically grown up! Congrats to Declan on his upcoming graduation. And I really like Caitlin's chosen profession, as well as her boyfriend, Eddie! Eddie is really cute and he's a firefighter (swoon). It will be fun to see more of Eddie's household and Caitlin in the next update!

    Daphne and Keira are so cute, I am really interested to see how they look as teens and how their personalities develop. It is so cool that they get to spend the night every week or so, and they look like cousins with those noses! Long live the Kirby family!

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    1. The pictures started showing up for me about half an hour after I finished this (hours before publication) but I left the note about them in, just in case. I'm happy they're working for everyone now though. Glad you liked the peek at the high school too. :)

      Sims grow up so fast, don't they? Except Keira, who is aging at a snail's pace as far as I'm concerned, lol. Eddie was either going to join the military or the fire department and I went with the latter. I don't think he'd enjoy a job as regimented as the military is likely to be. I think Caitlin will be happy in social work as well.

      Really looking forward to playing Daphne and Keira as teens, though I will be a smidge sad to age Daphne up, because she's such an adorable little thing. They're both definitely Kirby girls though! I can see the sleepovers continuing when they're in high school too.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Great update, it was nice hearing from the parents again :)

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    1. It's been years since we've heard from Finn or Victoria, so it was definitely time. Glad you enjoyed it!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. Yay! I'm glad to see these guys again. It's good that Keira has a cousin around her age that she can hang with. I remember thinking she'd get lonely by herself since her siblings were so much older. I don't blame Caitlin for thinking anyone going on for postgrad study is out of their mind, lol. But I'm glad to see everyone doing so well. At least you have a high school! I only just finished decorating my school and I'm procrastinating on working on my hospital because I'll need a lot of CC, so I didn't notice the emptiness at all.

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    1. Yeah, I was really happy to play them again too, especially getting to check in more on the parental side of things. :) I worry about age gaps with a lot of these younger siblings but they always seem to develop really close friendships outside the immediate family, so it's been okay. Probably a lot like only children/much younger children in real life, actually.

      Ha, I have a high school in the barest possible sense of the term, I guess! I'm going to go in today and at least do the gym and the cafeteria, because I already have CC for that. Gotta get this place started.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. Finn and Victoria get a little alone time for themselves. This is good. I know it's still too early, but sooner or later they will be settling in to become grandparents! I can't wait for that.

    Keira and Daphne, you can clearly tell they are related. And they are both super cute. Can't wait to see them as teens. I'm glad they are so close!

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    1. I think Finn and Victoria deserve a little couple time, after all these years! I think they're hoping to wait a few more years before they become grandparents. ;) Declan will definitely want to wait until he's finished with his studies and settled into his career. Caitlin is Family though, so she might end up beating him to the post. Who knows?

      That Kirby nose is sort of unmistakeable! I'd forgotten Keira and Daphne both had it until you guys started mentioning it but yeah, no hiding their parentage, lol! I'm excited for them to hit their teen years too.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. I'm glad Victoria and Finn get to enjoy date nights now! It's hard to believe Keira and Daphne are starting high school soon. It's still hard to believe that Finn and Victoria are old enough to have adult children, lol!

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    1. I always forget to do date nights for my sims, especially when their kids are teens. I get all wrapped up in the teenage drama, lol. So Finn and Victoria are benefiting now.

      LOL, in fairness, Finn and Victoria are only just barely old enough to have adult children! None of their peers even have teens yet and quite a few of them still have toddlers. They were 20 and 22 when they had Declan and Caitlin though, so they got started quite young!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. Daphne is super adorable right now, but I have an inkling that Kiera might be even more pretty after her she ages up. I'm excited to see both of the cousins; it's nice that they are such close friends. It's crazy that their older two kids are so old, a college graduate shortly! That seems insane! Caitlyn and Eddie are pretty adorable together, I'm curious if they might make it the long haul. A social worker and firefighter, that seems like a good couple to me!

    Nice to see Victoria and Finn going out on dates and enjoying themselves. While they might have made decent money, they've had to really jump ahead at things in life, they didn't get to do a slow building of a life, so I can imagine them struggling even with good money. Just a game of catch up. But I imagine things will be different for Kiera, more income, one child, and the bigger things in life like home and furnishings are all paid for.

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    1. Well, you might be right! Daphne was adorable from the beginning, so I never aged her up to check what she'd look like as a teen, so Keira may well end up cuter. Daphne's a good mix of both her parents, so I'm really curious to find out how she turns out.

      Well, Caitlin and Eddie are pretty happy for the meantime. Whether they'll be long term is up for debate, I guess! They're both going into helping professions though, as you point out, which is nice.

      Yeah, I think that's pretty much it with Victoria and Finn. They didn't get the time to stop and enjoy their relationship because they were thrust into parenthood so early. Things have been different for Keira, for sure. I noticed it also with Elspeth. Henry and Araminta were so poor (way poorer than Finn and Victoria ever were!) when Ione and Finn were growing up but by the time Elspeth came along, they were pretty solidly middle class. She didn't really have to go without like her older siblings did.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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