Saturday 31 March 2012

Glorious day

Round 33: September 2037 (Spring)
last update/next update

Lake Draper is 80 and Kendal is 61.
(Rose and Joanna are both 42, Patience is 35, Chris is 22, Sylvia is 11 and Patrick is 10 months old)

Narrated by Lake Draper

Chris is almost halfway through his Master’s degree in architecture and he’s finding it quite tough.

Not so tough he’s thinking of quitting, thankfully. I was relieved to hear that and I know Kendal especially would be disappointed if he dropped out. We paid $8000 in non-refundable tuition fees on this degree program and we’d like to know it’s not going to waste.

It’s the workload Chris is struggling with, rather than the content. They’re piling a lot on and Chris is working full time on top of that.

He’s also bemoaning the fact that work, on top of classes, has completely killed his social life.

I’m sure Kendal was secretly pleased with that. Chris always seems to be dating a few girls at a time and I know she wishes he’d settle down with just the one.

I’m not too worried. I was much the same way at his age but I still ended up married with children and leading a fairly stable, quiet life. Chris will get there eventually.

Already, there are signs that he’s maturing a little. Just the fact that he’s focusing on his work and not going out chasing girls anyway is a good sign.

As well as that, Chris actually dropped by to wish me a happy birthday. I normally don’t hear from him until a week afterwards, once he finally remembers. Either he’s becoming a bit more responsible or 80 was just too momentous a birthday to forget.

It definitely felt like a milestone birthday to me. Kendal certainly thought so and she made quite a big deal out of it.

It was a weekday but before she left for work, she made my favourite breakfast. It was delicious.

Then I just got to laze around the house all day, reading the wildlife books Kendal had bought me as a birthday gift.

After work, she’d also planned an evening out for the both of us.

Seeing it was a special occasion, we both had dessert for dinner!

I remember taking Kendal to the same restaurant many years ago, maybe even when we were just dating. It was a nice trip down memory lane to celebrate my birthday.

We had a great night but I felt every one of my 80 years the next morning! We stayed out quite late and I’m too old for that now.

Normally though, I don’t feel old and I don’t think I look old either. Older but not 80!

It does make it hard to sympathise with Patience, who’s already fretting about turning 35 next month.

Of all the ages to worry about, 35 seems like a strange one. I don’t think any woman young enough to have a tiny baby like Patrick can really be worried about being “old”.

Rose has never worried about anything like that. She forgets how old she even is sometimes.

We had a difficult time when Rose was a teenager but we’re very close now. I don’t miss having teenagers. It’s such a tough stage.

Rose and Joanna will soon find that out for themselves, as Sylvia is just a few months away from finishing primary school.

Rose tells me Sylvia has already had some teenage style tantrums but we haven’t been witness to them yet.

She was in a very good mood last time we saw her and was happily chatting to Kendal about starting high school.

I’m sure Kendal was doing a good job talking up high school and how great it’ll be. She’s very proud of that school.

I supposed that’s why I was so surprised when Kendal told me she’s already thinking about retirement. She’s only 61, which is four years away from the official retirement age but she’s so keen that she’s considering retiring early.

She still enjoys teaching but she feels like she’s gone as far as she wants to with it and wants to pass the torch on to someone younger.

Because she’s the principal though, things are a bit complicated. They’d need to appoint a replacement right away and seeing Joanna has moved on, there’s not really anyone senior enough to do it at the moment. She’d love to retire right now but she doesn’t feel right doing so.

Still, I was glad to hear that she's thinking about it. I thought I might have to forcibly remove her from campus once her time came! Hopefully, Kendal can make it happen in the next few years. I’d love to have her around the house with me full time.

Notes:
  • Title is from Glorious Day by Weezer.
  • Lake is 80! Wow! I know at least one of you commented on Lake's age in the last update, so seeing he has a September birthday, why not have a little celebration for him?
  • Kendal rolled a retirement want this round, which kind of surprised me. Then again, she's at the top of her career and has maxed out her skill points (LTW achieved!), so she feels she has nowhere else to go in that aspect of her life.
  • The principal thing will be tricky though. I'll probably have Kendal stick around until she's 65, at which point Julia will be 30-something and more ready to take over. Veronica Moretti still has this year and next year before she can start teaching (though she'll be student teaching this round), so Kendal will have to stay put until then or else it'll be Julia on her own!

16 comments:

  1. I said it once but I'll say it again, Lake is 80! Man, time sure does fly. It's great seeing everyone come together though, even with their busy lives.

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    1. I was thinking of you when I did a birthday for Lake in this session! Time definitely flies; Kendal and Lake have been married almost 25 years now. ;)

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  2. I am glad Lake enjoyed his birthday. I have to admit, I hold my breath whenever he is in an update because he is getting up there in age. I am so glad he is going to be with us for a little while longer. Who is your oldest living Sim right now?

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    1. LOL, I know there are a few readers who've told me they do the same thing! Lake is definitely getting old, though when I changed my aging mod, I made it so that Sims could live into their early 90s. So he's not as old as he could be.

      Oldest living Sim? I had to go and check, because my aging list is something I haven't made up again yet. But Adam, Hanna and Augustin are all 82 and they tie for oldest. My longest living Sim so far has been Julian, who made it to 85. I've got some in this current crop of elders who will live longer than that though.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  3. Ah, can't believe he's 80! :) But he looks really good for his age, I have to say. Heh. I like your family updates so much, they always seem so real to me.

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    1. Lake does look pretty good for 80, doesn't he? I keep thinking I should make him look older but he's so handsome that I can't bring myself to change him!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  4. I of course rolled to the end to see that he lived and seeing that he did, I decided I'd read the update, lol. I was all about boycotting this post if you did a birthday celebration then knocked him off!! And since you are making Kendal wait to retire, you better make Lake live to spend time with her, otherwise that's just cruel. :-p

    It was great seeing all the kids, and grand kids. Chris is looking good, and I'm glad (like Kendal) that his social life is suffering some under the workload. He could use a little slowing down. Sylvia is adorable, I wonder how well she will behave in high school and if Kendal will see some tantrum behavior. And it totally makes sense that Rose isn't caught up in age and Patience is.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. LOL, no, I think doing a birthday celebration and then killing off Lake would have been too cruel, even for me! Lake is safe for this round but that's all I can say.

      I'm hoping by the time Chris gets his Master's under his belt, he might be ready to settle down a bit. Or not even settle down, but maybe stick to the one girl? Kendal would be thrilled if he brought one home to meet her!

      As a teacher, I can say that sometimes kids save their tantrums for their parents and sometimes they save them for their teachers. Maybe Kendal will miss out, given poor Rose and Joanna are already getting the brunt of the tantrums at home!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  5. I really can't believe Lake is 80 already!! Time went by so fast it seems!
    I know it's depressing to think, but I really hope Lake lives long enough to enjoy is retirement with Kendal. It would be nice for them to enjoy it together.

    It might be a good thing for Chris that his schoolwork is taking up all of his time. He still has plenty of time for romance and love when he finishes school.

    I loved seeing all the kids and grandkids, and I'm very excited to see Sylvia grow up. I love every birthday, but from child to teen is one of the most changing for a sim, and I can't wait to see what Sylvia's up to :)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. It's so hard to reply to comments about my Sims' longevity without giving anything away, seeing I already know who dies when. So I'll just say that it would indeed be very nice if Kendal and Lake could enjoy their retirement together for a while. :)

      I don't think it will harm Chris irreparably if he focuses on something other than girls for a while. I'm afraid he might go crazy once he finishes his studies though, lol!

      Yes, child to teen is my favourite age transition too. Teen to YA/Adult comes a close second. I think Sylvia will end up looking a lot like Kendal, except with Adrienne's chin. Sylvia's bio-dad used the same facial template as Kendal, if I remember correctly. But we'll see soon enough. :) I realised last night that I only have two more family updates to play through before I get to birthdays!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  6. Aww, it seems like just yesterday that Lake and Kendal got together, and now he's 80! I hope he's still alive when Kendal is able to retire. That's unfortunate timing for her, right when Joanna is no longer a viable option for principal.

    LOL at Sylvia's impending teenage-hood. This should be very interesting. :)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. It doesn't feel like that long ago, does it? But yeah, they got married 23 years ago and I think they got together about four years before that? Craziness!

      By the time Kendal is 65, which is when I'm planning to let her retire, Julia will be early 30s and a little more suitable as a principal. Maybe? LOL, I have a couple of ideas for what to do. I hope one of my new teens rolls the LTW to become education minister, or a non-career LTW who I can force into the role. ;) There's always Leslie, but I see her as more of a primary school teacher.

      Sylvia's a feisty little thing! Kind of like Joanna, lol. Though she's much more social than Joanna was, so when Sylvia gets in a mood, everyone will know about it!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  7. Aww what a sweet birthday date they had. They’re going to have to keep those late nights to a minimum, though, or poor Lake won’t be any good to anyone. I was thinking that he looks good for 80, too. Sims are so lucky lol.

    I’m surprised Kendal wants to retire so early. But like you said in the last update, she’s completely maxed, so it's understandable. I bet her sons are hoping she stays employed so she doesn't have more free time to come around ;).

    Glad to see that Chris is doing well with his master's and that it's keeping him from wooing too many ladies… or any ladies lol. Once he gets his schooling done, he'll have plenty of time for that.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Poor Lake is definitely not 21 any more. He really feels it the next day when he has a late night now, even if he does look amazing for 80!

      Kendal's definitely looking forward to all that extra free time when she does retire. I imagine Chris and Troy will be hoping she spends most of it with Calvin, who is kind of a mama's boy and always has been. ;)

      This coming year (2038) will be the second and final year of Chris's master's, and I'm sure it can't come quickly enough. I'm hoping he'll have a slightly more mature attitude about women once that time comes but we'll see!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  8. Lake is the SEXIEST 80 years old man ever! *swoon*
    I keep forgetting that Sims can die, and wasn't worried at all for him, untill I read Maisie's worried comment! Then, I felt the fear I had missed! Now, I'll be scared at reading more, because it has been a long time since you lost a Sim, so... *shudder*

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    1. Lake is still pretty good looking for any age, let alone 80!

      But yes, my Sims can die of old age, although I haven't had that happen for a while. It's going to start happening again soon though, with some regularity, so prepare yourself! I'm pretty sad about a few Sims who will be dying in the next few Sim years. :(

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete