Saturday 16 June 2012

Wonderwall

Round 33: September 2038 (Spring)
last update/next update

Jace Novak is 81 and Magdalena is 74.
(Araminta is 75, Gordon is 42, Lia is 41, Maia is 36, Ethan is 32, Annabel and Georgina are 14, Gabriel is 11, Willow is 3, Peter and River are 1)

Narrated by Magdalena Novak

Jace and I have been wanting to go away somewhere for years now and it’s finally starting to seem like it might be an attainable goal.

It might not be for a couple of years but we’re already getting excited about it and talking about the different places we might go.

For the meantime though, we’re staying put in Sullivan and enjoying our retirement at home.

We're not bored at all just staying at home, so it won’t be too torturous waiting for our holiday.

We have Araminta around quite often and our grandchildren are usually the main topic of conversation. We like to stay very involved with ours and Araminta lives with her son and his children, so it seems only natural that we talk about them so frequently.

Seeing our granddaughters are close friends with her granddaughter, the stories we tell often overlap. Lately, we’re a bit worried about Caitlin and Georgina though.

Caitlin was dating a boy for several months, he broke up with her and is now interested in Georgina. Caitlin has been in the most foul mood ever since.

Caitlin’s not speaking to Georgina, Georgina is upset and Annabel feels caught in the middle of it all. It's not a good situation for anyone.

It’s been a long time since Jace and I have dealt with teenagers - not since our own girls were that age. It’s not a stage I missed, I have to say. I don’t think it’s a particularly fun stage for parent or child, really.

I hope the girls will come through it all okay but it’s hard at the moment.

Georgina is always very quiet but it’s been so rare for us to get even a small smile out of her lately.

Lia’s not really sure what to do with her or for her, if there’s anything at all she even could do.

Georgina usually talks to Lia a lot but she hasn’t said much about Brendan to anyone except her sister.

Annabel’s strategy is to try to take Georgina’s mind off things for a while, which sometimes works.

I’m so glad they have each other, at least, seeing things are so dicey at the moment with Caitlin.

Annabel is hoping Caitlin will come around. She, Caitlin, Georgina and Brendan have been friends for so long now and Annabel can’t see Caitlin wanting to abandon that forever.

Caitlin is not usually unreasonable, nor is she the type to hold a grudge, so Annabel is optimistic that she’ll get over Georgina and Brendan eventually.

I hope so. It would be a shame to throw away all those years of friendship.

Lia and Gordon would both have preferred it if Georgina and Annabel had waited a little longer before they started getting interested in boys but it’s not something parents have much control over.

So they’ve agreed to let the girls date but will be monitoring them quite closely until they're old enough to be out on their own.

Jace is finding it all quite hilarious. He was always very protective of our daughters when they were younger and of all the boyfriends the girls had, Gordon was always under the most suspicion.

Gordon is definitely a little more understanding of Jace now, being in a similar position with Georgina and Annabel.

He worries especially about Annabel. She’s much bolder than her sister and Gordon thinks she’s more likely to be led astray.

Annabel is dating a boy named Simon. She hasn’t told me about him but I hear her talking to Georgina. Apparently, he’s very cute and he plays guitar and wants to be a rock star when he grows up.

Maybe he’s a nice boy. I don’t really know much about him at all but Annabel seems quite taken.

Gordon isn’t especially thrilled about him though. Annabel doesn’t really take any of Gordon’s warnings too seriously either, which doesn’t help to put his mind at ease.

Annabel often reminds me and Jace of Tessa, in that she’s very loud and very, very social.

Gordon and Lia aren’t quite sure what to do with her. Their other children are all quite reserved and they’re not sure how Annabel came to be so extroverted.

We’ll soon have another teenage grandchild, when Gabriel starts high school next year. He still seems so much like a kid that it’s hard to imagine.

He’s also quite a loner; Lia tells me he doesn’t have too many friends at school.

He seems content enough with that but I think that might change next year. I can’t see him wanting to spend all his spare time with his parents or with Peter once he he’s started high school.

It could be a perfect opportunity for him to develop some new interests and make some more friends.

Maia and Ethan’s children are still little, so they have a while before they need to worry about that sort of thing.

It felt like we waited forever for Maia to settle down and start a family and then she gave us two grandchildren in quick succession, Willow and River.

It was nice that River came along when he did, because he’s only a month younger than Peter.

Peter’s siblings are all so much older than him, so having River around will mean he has someone to grow up next to as well.

It’s too early to tell how they’ll really get along but I have my fingers crossed they’ll become close.

River and Peter being so close in age has given Maia and Lia something to bond over as well.

They’re only five years apart but by the time Maia got married, Lia thought she was completely done with children. This is the first time in a while they’ve felt like they were at the same stage of life.

They don’t always see eye to eye, as they have very different outlooks on life.

And Lia can get a bit too preachy for Maia’s liking sometimes.

Maia gets frustrated with her sometimes but I know Lia only does it out of love.

Mostly, they’re each glad they have the other to turn to.

Maia is as good at getting Lia to lighten up a little as Lia is at getting Maia to take things a bit more seriously when necessary.

They’re both enjoying the opportunity to raise their boys together. It's not something either of them ever expected to be able to do but Peter was a surprise for Lia and Gordon!

I was so surprised when Maia said she and Ethan hadn’t ruled out a third! I would love another grandchild but never dreamed we’d have any more.

Perhaps Ethan has got to her, which I certainly won’t complain about! He’s a great dad and you can tell how much he enjoys the kids.

I’m trying not to get too excited about it, because Maia is 36 and may not even be able to conceive this time around.

But if we were lucky enough to be blessed with another little grandchild, Jace and I would both be thrilled!

Extra:
Just because there wasn't much Willow and I love her!

Notes:
  • Title is from Wonderwall by Oasis. If you didn't know that already, you probably didn't come of age in the 90s like I did. ;)
  • I've been saying I want to send Jace and Magdalena away for a while now, I know! Next round! They have enough money to go now but I wanted to touch on Georgina and co a little bit more, so there was no time this session.
  • Caitlin is still pretty pissed at both Georgina and Brendan but she hasn't had much time to cool down yet. Annabel is really her only female friend close to her age at the moment, so I'm hoping she will eventually want to make up with Georgina too.
  • Ethan (IFS of 3) has the want for another baby and Maia (IFS of 2) doesn't. But when I visited them to age up River, they tried for a baby. So I'm going to just see what happens next time I play them. They may not be successful or they may not try again. Or we might see a third kid from them!

16 comments:

  1. I hope they are able to take the trip before its too late. Retirement looks good on them.

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    1. Ha, before they die, you mean? I'm definitely going to send them next round, so they'll get one holiday in at the very least. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. Haha I'm glad they are finally able to go on holiday! I really hope this drama will calm down and Caitlin can forgive Georgina and Brendan. I like how you covered the drama in this post. I always assumed Maia and Ethan were done. I really hope they do have another baby because Willow and River are just adorable! And I'm sorry to always ask you where you find things but I've been looking for a fence for so long and the one in Jace and Magdalena's garden is just perfect if you remember where you got it? Thanks so much!!

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    1. I hope so too. I think Caitlin and Georgina are going to have to have a talk but Caitlin is still too angry right now. When she calms down a little though, that's what will have to happen.

      Ethan and Maia could still be done but they're open to another. It really will depend on what they do and whether they're successful. But Willow and River are adorable and I wouldn't mind maybe getting another girl with Maia's looks. ;)

      That's a great fence, isn't it? I'm pretty sure there is info on it, so I'll check in game for you today. If not, I have another similar fence that you may like that I'll link you to instead.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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    2. Haha any fence is good. I am seriously low on them. Thanks you!

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    3. Okay, the fence in the picture is part of a collection by Windkeeper at TSR, which you can grab here. I just downloaded the whole collection myself, because I realised I was missing the gate, so I can tell you that it's free (at least right now it is, anyway).

      There are also these very nice ones, converted by Curious B from TS3. You'll have to scroll down a bit. They're the same height as the one around Magdalena and Jace's garden, so you might find them useful too. Gates are included too!

      Enjoy!

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  3. I loved this update! So full of family, and toddlers, and teenage drama! This is the perfect update for Jace and Magdalena. I adore these two! I hope that Maia and Ethan have another baby! That'd be great, and their kids are super adorable. It's nice seeing Maia and Lia have something in common, they've been so different in their adult life, that it felt like they weren't as close as they might be if they shared something, so I think River and Peter are perfect to bring them together.

    I do hope Caitlyn will find someone else and cool off towards Georgina. I do empathize with her though, it really wasn't very cool of Georgina to just jump into that relationship, bad form. I agree with Gordon on not being thrilled about Simon! And even though Annabel is more outgoing, it doesn't mean Georgina can't make bad choices too, sometimes it seems shy girls can be convinced to do things that a bold, outgoing girl would have the guts to say no to. But I don't worry about that with Brendan, I'd worry more if she found herself smitten with Simon.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed it! I still always worry people will find my elder updates a bit boring, lol. But Jace and Magdalena as empty nesters have always been favourites of mine, I have to say.

      I really love being able to see Maia and Lia bonding a bit, because they really haven't had that opportunity in the past. There's still a lot of the "mother hen" type instinct in Lia but they have these shared experiences with their boys to talk about too now, which is sweet. They're very different women!

      I don't have much trouble feeling sorry for Caitlin or Georgina in this situation but it's probably going to need to be Georgina who takes the first step towards fixing the situation. They're both sweet girls, so I hope they can sort it all out.

      Yep, I think Simon is definitely the more "dangerous" boy here, so Gordon probably has his worries in the right place! Even though she's shy, I agree that Georgina still has the potential to make bad choices but she's probably a bit safer with Brendan than with a wilder type of guy!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. I don't know how you do it, but you make your empynesters always seem so intersting! I'm always finding for ways to avoid playing mine! And than I read your updates, and I want that for my elders as well!
    It's nice that they see something of Tessa in one of their grandchildren! This sometimes happens, and it's nice and sad at the same time.

    I can imagine Jace liking the fact that Gordon is not so happy about his daughters starting to date, it's always more fun when you're not the one having the deal with it.

    I do hope Ethan and Maia have another baby, that would be really nice!

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    1. I'm glad you enjoy my empty nester updates, Tanja! I still struggle to figure out what to write about sometimes. I have two more empty nester updates this round and am already racking my brain to think of what to do with them. :)

      I'm sure it's a little bittersweet for Jace and Magdalena to look at Annabel and see a bit of Tessa. It's a little like she's still around though, so it would be a comfort as well.

      Ha, Jace is definitely enjoying watching Gordon worry the same way he once did! Jace would be a little worried himself though, seeing Georgina and Annabel are his granddaughters. ;)

      We'll see what happens with Ethan and Maia next round. I kind of have my fingers crossed for them now but I won't force it. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. Wonderwall, yes! I can hear it in my head now. One of my favorites!

    I loved how you covered the issue with the teens from the perspective of their grandparents. It's so cool, because it includes everyone. It sort of opens up the fact that one thing affects an entire family. I don't know how to phrase it, but I really enjoyed it!

    I really hope that Jace and Magdalena get their vacation soon.

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    1. Yes, I think I know what you mean. What happened with Caitlin and Georgina doesn't quite affect everyone in the family but they're
      all going to have their own reactions to it anyway! Glad you enjoyed it.

      Jace and Magdalena will definitely get their holiday this around. I'm going to add it to my ROS page in my notes, so I remember to take them!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. I am glad they will be able to go on vacation soon. It is cute that they get together with Araminta and mostly gab about the grandchildren. I love he contrast between Maia and Lia's parenting styles.

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    1. I love that I've been able to keep Magdalena and Araminta's friendship going from when they were little girls until now, when they're both in their 70s! A lot of their wants are for their grandchildren as well, so they definitely make their priorities clear to me.

      Lia and Maia were always going to be really different kinds of mothers! Now that they have kids the same age, it makes it even more apparent.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. Great update! I'm glad Jace and Magdalena can finally go on that vacation next round. My Rodriguez family has had the want for a few years, too. They can afford it but I want to redo my vacation areas first. And that's awesome that you've kept Magdalena and Araminta's friendship so strong after so many years.

    Bringing up Tessa makes me wonder how she and Annabel would have got along since they're so alike. Crazy to think she'd be about 30 now, right?

    I'm glad that Peter has a cousin so close in age so that he doesn't feel so far behind compared to his siblings. There are going to be 3 teenagers and a toddler! Crazy times. I'm glad Lia and Maia are finding it a tad bit easier to relate to one another and great news about Maia and Ethan trying for another! They made really gorgeous kids!

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    1. Jace and Magdalena have certainly worked for long enough to finally get that vacation! They're in a place where they won't have to make any more big purchases now - they've put their kids through college (although Maia didn't quite graduate!) and this house will do them for life. So now is a good time for a break.

      And yep, Tessa would have been 30 in 2038. :( I think Annabel would have found a real kindred spirit in Tessa. Tessa was a little nicer than Annabel is but she was very similar otherwise.

      Lia and Gordon will be living in a crazy house next round! At least their teens are all nice kids though - Luc and Asha will have it way worse when their three are all teens!

      Hopefully we'll hear some good news from Ethan and Maia soon. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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