Memory lane

Round 35: December 2042 (Summer)

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Gottlieb 1 household profile

Adam Gottlieb is 87, Athena is 82, Amelia is 53, Wade is 52 and Michael is 11. 

(Linnea is 82, Joanna is 47, Sophie is 29, Oliver is 26, Noah is 24, Brigit is 23, Emma is 22 and Levi and Will are 10)

Narrated by Wade Gottlieb

My sister Joanna hates entertaining, so the big Christmas dos have traditionally fallen to us. We've done them just about every year since we got married. 

Fortunately, we don’t mind. Dad and Amelia love doing the cooking and have really bonded over that over the years.

Dad can’t do as much as he once did, so Amelia tends to mostly direct him these days. You couldn't keep him out of there completely though.

Mum and I aren't quite as useful in that arena, so we do the socialising while they’re cooking, along with whatever minor tasks Dad or Amelia ask us to do. 

A lot of the cooking is done ahead of time, so they can catch up with everybody too. 

Our gatherings are always very lively and Amelia and I don’t even have grandchildren yet. I can’t imagine how loud this house will be when we do. 

I'm not sure I'm quite ready for grandkids yet anyway, though we might get some soon anyway. They have shared any baby plans with us but Sophie and Oliver will be married by this time next year, so it could happen!

Right now though, everyone is focused on the wedding. Sophie has surprised us by actually being pretty organised with it once she got started! She takes after me with that kind of thing normally, so we were expecting a fair bit of procrastination.

They won’t be moving in together until after they’re married but they’re trying to sock away some money to set up house in the mean time. 

So as impersonal as it might seem, we gave them cash for Christmas. They don’t have space for household stuff just yet but they can hopefully save the money for when they do. 

Noah and Brigit are in a similar position, though they are already settled into their house. It’s a bit empty though, so they got cash for Christmas as well. 

They’re not getting married until after Sophie and Oliver and they haven’t started any real planning yet.

That hasn’t stopped Mum and Dad from pestering them both for details, which I’m sure gets a bit much at times. 

Adam’s offered up The Claudette to host the wedding reception, even though Sophie is the one who owns and runs the restaurant these days!

He’s got a big soft spot for it still and always wants to know how the business is going, whenever Sophie comes over. 

Emma got a bit touchy when Amelia asked her where Heather was. We’d been expecting her to come and then Emma arrived alone.

They've split up, apparently, though I don’t know how we were supposed to know that, seeing Emma didn't tell us. 

Emma has had a good year professionally - her first year as an adult - but not quite as good personally. 

On the plus side, she’s enjoyed living with Jessica and Louisa and is looking forward to having Lauren move in too, when Louisa moves out early next year.

Michael sometimes mentions being lonely at home, with his brother and sisters all living on their own now, and then when they come over, he spends all his time with Levi and Will, playing video games upstairs.

I should probably force him to be a bit more social but he probably gets bored when Sophie, Noah and Emma come over and the talk quickly turns to grown-up stuff. Michael has plenty of time for that. He’ll be starting high school next year and Will and Levi will follow the year after. 

He did come down for presents (no surprise there!) and was very gracious in thanking everyone for his gifts, so I guess we've done something right with him. 

Amelia and I both took a week off work after Christmas, just for a well-earned break. I was promoted earlier this year, so I've been working harder than usual. 

It was nice being home during the day for a change. I was really in need of a rest.

Some family time over a leisurely breakfast felt wonderful. 

I wish it could have lasted longer but we sadly lost Dad towards the end of our time off work. He went peacefully, at least, in his sleep. And he’d just turned 87, which is a ripe old age. 

It’s just incredibly strange and sad to not have him around any more. I've lived in the same house as him for my whole life, apart from four years away from college. There is such a void there now.

I wish he had lived to see Sophie’s wedding, and Noah’s wedding, and maybe even a great-grandchild or two. 

Dad was so excited about the weddings and he would have loved to have seen his grandkids have kids of their own. He never stopped wanting more grandkids and great-grandkids would have been just as good for him. 

I'm a little worried for Mum, especially when we go back to to work. She’s retired now and she’ll be home all day on her own.

My aunt Linnea has been coming over to visit, so I’m hoping she’ll come more often now, to keep her company. 

Michael is having a tough time. He’s never known anyone to die before - Amelia’s parents died before he was born - so he’s taking it hard. It’s going to take us all a little time to get used to this new normal. 

**********

Adam Gottlieb (1955-2042)

Adam Gottlieb died in his sleep at home this week, aged 87.

Adam Gottlieb was born in Exeter, to Isaac and Petra Gottlieb, in 1955.

He was raised alongside his twin sister, Hanna, who lived in Sullivan until her death in 2040. 

Adam decided to skip university and go straight into the workforce. Wife Athena, however, was still in college when they became engaged.

Adam and Athena got married in 1984, in Benton Park in Exeter.

Both were keen to start a family and that dream came true when their son Wade was born, in 1990.

Five years later, their daughter Joanna came along and completed the family.

Until he retired, Adam had his own cooking show and owned The Claudette, an upscale restaurant in Exeter.

Adam is survived by his wife Athena, his children Wade and Joanna and his grandchildren Sophie, Noah, Emma, Michael, Sylvia, Levi and Will.

Notes:

• Title is from Memory Lane by Elliott Smith.
• Sylvia was present at the family Christmas, in case you were wondering. She just didn't appear in any of the pics I used. 
• Wade, after years languishing on Level 4 of the Natural Science career, finally rolled the want to earn a skill point and got a promotion to Level 5! I don't expect him to roll another one before retirement, so this might be as far as he gets. ;)
• RIP Adam! I had this family open all damn day and night because I didn't want to kill him off but I finally just did it, like a band-aid. I had ideas of using my hospital for this but I didn't want to drag it out. Depressing way to end the round! I have three elder deaths next round though, so that'll be worse. I'll have to be sure not to the end the round with any.