SiMania joint legacy - chapter 11

Welcome back to the story of my family’s legacy, dear readers. It had been a while since I graduated college and I was just waiting for my fiancée, Zethamae, so that we could get married. She had stayed behind at college to finish her schooling. While I waited for her to arrive, I made sure to get a job in the athletic career so that I could fulfill my lifetime want. Thanks to my degree and my maxed skills, it wasn’t long before I was perma-plat.

(Hello again, readers! It’s me, Taube. Thanks for coming back for my second chapter on this turn. If I have anything to add to Katherine’s narration, I’ll add it down here like this. Please enjoy the story!)

I realized I never showed off our new house, mostly because I didn’t live in it for long before I went to college. It’s a very large, spacious house with sunny yellow paint and lots of flowers outside.

(Okay, overhead-shot-enthusiasts, here we go. Top, clockwise from top right: elder bedroom, playroom, bathroom, nursery, girls’ bedroom, boys’ bedroom, bathroom, adult bedroom. Big room is just a hallway and has some pet stuff. Bottom, clockwise from top right: kitchen/dining, bathroom (pet room next to it), activity/hobby room, main hall, living room, study. Whew!)

When Zethamae moved in, the first thing she did was get to know my parents. She had met them briefly at the toga party we hosted back at the Greek house, but now she really wanted to be friends with them. Zethamae is like that: she always wants to be friendly with everybody, but especially family. “After all,” she said. “After our wedding tomorrow, they’ll be my parents-in-law.”

The morning of the wedding, we all got dressed. It was a summer wedding so Zethamae and I decided on short, breezy dresses that fit the casual theme. It was going to be a small wedding. Even though she had been dreaming about getting married since she was a young girl, Zethamae was fine with an intimate wedding with just close family.

My parents, Zethamae, and I had some time to kill before the wedding started. Dad paid me compliments on my dress before – of course – flirting with Mom. Zethamae and Kristin talked shoes and I checked out the wedding area to make sure it was all ready.

Luke showed up and he and Kristin got dressed. They settled in with Mom and Dad and the music started.

Standing at the altar made me feel light-headed with joy. Here was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, and she was willing to marry me! I was practically giddy as we said our vows.

Even though I’m a romance sim, marriage didn’t bother me. Instead, all I was thinking about was Zethamae and how happy I was to have her near again.

We kissed and it was official – my bride was now Zethamae McMania and I was now a married woman.

After the ceremony, we couldn’t stay too serious. Zethamae started up a school cheer and I just had to join in. I love my silly, spirited wife.

(Sigh. Sims. Can’t even stay serious for a few minutes at their own wedding.)

Not long after the wedding, we left for our honeymoon. We had decided to go to Takemizu. We packed our bags, caught the shuttle, and off we went.

Our vacation was pretty amazing. Besides having plenty of time to relax, we learned a lot too. We met an old wise man who told us a local legend. We also studied the ways of zen and I even learned to teleport from a ninja!

It wasn’t all intellectual pursuits on our trip, though. We spent plenty of time relaxing, whether that meant kicking back in the hot springs or enjoying a friendly game of mahjong. We also spent lots of time together, just being lovey-dovey newlyweds.

However, not everything on the trip was pleasant. We got attacked by bees after taking a tour and spent a long time running around trying to escape from them. I also got a really bad case of itching in the middle of the trip. I told Zethamae that the wishing well I wished at had cursed me, but she told me I was just being silly.

We packed a lot in to just five days. Sometimes we were so exhausted we just had to take a nap, no matter where we were.

(These two goofballs autonomously laid down on park benches on either side of the food stand. I guess I had been running them a little ragged, but it was still pretty funny.)

No wonder we were tired, though. We also packed in a lot of productive time, just like when we were at college. We earned gold pottery badges and worked on our official legacy portraits. I earned a fishing badge as well and kept the vacation house tidy.

Finally the time came for us to leave. We had a great time on our honeymoon and managed to fit in a lot of activities and sights. Still, it felt good to be home and we were both ready to start our family.

We hung the portraits on the wall with all of my ancestors.

It made me feel very official, like finally I was a real legacy heir with my portrait on the wall. It didn’t hurt that I thought the portraits turned out very nicely.

One of the first orders of business was getting the house ready for babies. Sad as it was, I just didn’t feel like I could care for all of the cats. We kept Nakoma, but Kristin and Luke took the others to live with them. I’m just not as much of a pet person as my parents and felt like I could only divide my attention so much. Still, I knew the cats would have good homes with Kristin and Luke.

(Nakoma likes to float above couches. And that’s an Ikea SP couch, not some CC abnormal mesh. Nice one, EA!)

Back home, Zethamae and I continued our artistic pursuits. We both really enjoyed being in the zone while we made our pottery. Zethamae was waiting to find a job in law enforcement to fulfill her LTW of being Captain Hero. I already had reached mine as a Hall of Famer, so I had a lot of days off. Between the two of us, we had a lot of time to kill.

Mom and Dad’s birthday came. I couldn’t believe my parents were getting so old! We had a small party with just the four of us plus a friend that Mom brought home from work.

Mom and Dad make very dignified elders. They’re still as in love as ever, of course. Even a few wrinkles and grey hair can’t get in the way of true love. I hope that’s a glimpse of how Zethamae and I will be when we’re elders.

(I tried to keep them looking fairly the same, but Aurora’s hair doesn’t have an elder version, so she got a new ‘do.)

I had been wondering for a while if I might have gotten pregnant on our honeymoon. I had been a bit sick lately, but it wasn’t too bad.

I got my confirmation during the birthday party when I felt the first kick. Zethamae and I were going to be parents soon!

During this time we all kept rather busy. Zethamae taught Mom how to throw pottery on the wheel and she got really into it. Dad divided his time between dance and financial advising. I was mostly working or resting. Now that I was pregnant, I was tired a lot of the time and didn’t have as much energy for activities as I did before.

Still, I kept going to work and reached some major financial milestones. I wanted our baby to have a completely comfortable life, and although our family was already quite well off, it didn’t hurt to bring in a bit more money.

Needless to say, Zethamae was overjoyed at the thought of being a mommy. She could barely leave my belly alone any time we were together. She always wanted to feel for kicks and talk to the baby. I felt confident that this would be the most loved baby in the whole world.

Of course, not everything went well. I had been taking hikes to keep active while pregnant, and on one of them I disturbed a beehive. It was like vacation all over again! Ugh, I really hate bees.

The other difficulty we had during this time was with the ghosts. They had been really active recently and everyone in the house got scared on a regular basis. I knew things would be bad when I looked up from my dinner one evening to see one forefather standing in the middle of the table and the other raiding the fridge. I will confess that between pregnancy and the constant scarings, I had more than a few bathroom emergencies.

(The ghosts are dressed absolutely ridiculously in my game, which was alternately a source of amusement and despair, depending on the severity of their sartorial impairment.)

Zethamae finally found a job in law enforcement. Although she hated to leave me and the baby at home, I know she really enjoyed her job protecting the citizens of our city.

It wasn’t long before she had risen through the ranks and then struck out on her own as Captain Hero. I was so proud of my wife. Not only had she achieved her life’s goal, but she was also making the world a safer and better place.

Towards the end of my pregnancy, Zethamae and I took up a new hobby: restoring cars. Maybe I should have been resting more, but I had a blast working on our old beat-up car with her. Of course, we worked such long hours that we often didn’t smell so great at the end. Still, it was worth it to see our shiny yellow car all finished and sitting on the driveway.

After a long day of working on the car, I went into labor in the bathroom. Mom and Zethamae were there to cheer me on, and dad popped in after the birth, although his contribution was not as helpful.

We had a beautiful daughter with my skin and blue eyes and Zethamae’s red hair. We named her Eowyn.

(Eowyn is a character from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. I couldn’t decide on just one favorite book, so I’ll be using a different one for each birth. I’m indecisive like that. Now back to Eowyn. Eowyn is a strong woman and a member of the royalty of the Rohirrim, the horse-lords of the plains. She despairs that she cannot go to war with her brother and uncle, the king, but she finds a way to disguise herself and go with the army anyway. She ends up playing a huge role in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. She is brave and willful.)

Little baby Eowyn was spoiled from the moment she drew her first breath. Both Zethamae and I were delighted with our new little daughter and, except when she was sleeping, she hardly ever spent a moment alone.

Time passed quickly and many things changed in our life. While Eowyn was still a baby, I found out I was pregnant again. We also adopted a white kitten that we named Belle. Finally, Eowyn’s first birthday came around and we gathered to celebrate her impending toddlerhood.

Eowyn grew into a darling little thing. Her red hair was so pretty against her light skin. She was such a gregarious little girl. Even before she could talk, she would happily burble at other people for what seemed like hours on end. She was so friendly too. Visitors to the house were always drawn to her, it seemed like, since she was always ready to meet new faces.

(Eowyn’s personality is 6/9/7/4/10. I’m not crazy about her face, but I like her stats very much!)

Of course Zethamae and I launched into teaching Eowyn all the skills she would need to be a successful toddler. She was a quick learner, especially with a little help from the smart milk, and it seemed like only a day or two passed before she knew all we could teach her. She then focused more on playing with her toys.

While Eowyn grew and learned new things, time was passing for the rest of us, too. Nakoma got old and my belly grew more and more. By the time Nakoma started sprouting grey hairs, I knew it would be only a matter of days before we would welcome a new addition to the family.

Sure enough, labor came right on schedule. This time I gave birth in the early morning and my screams woke the rest of my family up! Our new baby was a gorgeous little girl named Mona. She had my skin and blonde hair, but Zethamae’s chocolaty eyes.

(Mona is a character from Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. She is the adopted daughter of the dictator of a small island nation. She is one of a very few left standing after a series of unfortunate events results in the instantaneous freezing of all water on earth. Faced with the new world, she chooses to ingest some of the ice and thereby freezes. Depressing, but I like the character. Mona is very intelligent, serene, and beautiful.)

Mona got just as much love as her big sister did. It seemed like nearly every hour of the day that we weren’t at work was spent with the girls. Zethamae and I were so delighted with our daughters that the long hours spent didn’t phase us a bit.

Their birthdays fell close together, so we threw one party for both of them. We invited Kristin and Luke over so they could celebrate their nieces. Their kids were getting older, too. We were all caught up in our happy little family lives. It was funny – I hardly even remembered what it felt like to be a romance sim, though my aspiration hadn’t changed. I guess I just threw myself into being a family woman and there was no going back.

Mona grew into a sweet little toddler. She was similar in temperament to her older sister, except that Mona was very shy. She preferred to stick close to Zethamae and I when we were home, but she adored following her big sis around too.

(Mona’s personality is 6/1/8/3/10. Another super nice kid and another weird face. They’re not ugly but there’s something just a little off about them. :/ )

Since I had been a bit of a tomboy as a child, I was surprised to see that my oldest was turning into a big priss! I kid, but she picked out the most peculiar dress to wear – it was very old-fashioned and girly. Eowyn became very prim and proper as she got older. I hoped the kids at school wouldn’t pick on her for being a little different, but my fears were misplaced. My social daughter made lots of friends from her first day on the bus and it seemed like she brought a different one home each day.

Our kitten, Belle, kept to herself a bit and had kind of faded into the background in the midst of everything else that was going on. She grew into a very pretty cat, but a little strange. Her fur was orange, but it was so light that it almost looked pink. That suited the girls just fine as they both wore pink all the time themselves.

Eowyn was very good with her little sister and when she wasn’t playing with her friends, she took time to show Mona new tricks with the blocks. They were soon best friends. Every morning before the school bus came for Eowyn, the two of them would be in the playroom from the crack of dawn, just playing away.

Even though the girls were older, the work didn’t stop! Now Eowyn needed help with homework and Mona had all her toddler skills to learn. Both of them really enjoyed learning new things, so they were very pleasant to teach. Zethamae and I had always enjoyed learning and trying new things, too, so it was gratifying to see that our daughters carried on that tradition.

One frigid winter morning I woke up with one heck of a backache and a funny feeling. I knew right away, even before the morning sickness started, that I was pregnant. Zethamae and I had decided that three kids would be just perfect, so this would be my last pregnancy.

Both of our girls were so, so nice and so loving. There were always lots of hugs to go around at the McMania house.

One day late in my final pregnancy I was talking to Dad, looking for a bit of comfort. “Dad,” I said. “I feel like I’m as big as a house. Did I ever get this big with either of the girls? I feel huge!”“You look fine,” he replied. “But yeah, you’re pretty round there.”“Ugh, Dad, that was not what I wanted to hear. Maybe I’m having sextuplets.”He laughed. “Maybe, but somehow I doubt it. Just wait and see.”

Waiting was hard, though!

Mona’s birthday came up again, but this time we just had a small party – just Eowyn, Zethamae, Mom, Dad, and a very pregnant me.

Mona grew up very nicely. In some ways, she was the opposite of her sister. She was very sporty and she took to wearing simple clothes and a casual hair style instead of Eowyn’s more formal look.

Still, the girls were the best of friends. Eowyn was thrilled that now they could play big-girl games together, and Mona looked up to her older sister so much. I was glad my girls got along so well.

Once again I went into an early morning labor and the whole family came running in their PJs. This time was different because the pains didn’t stop after our child was born; we were having twins! I handed off the first little boy to Zethamae before birthing the second. I had hoped for a son, but now we had two!

The first baby we named Yossarian. He had all the same coloring as Mona. The second baby, named Milo, had my skin, and Zethamae’s hair and eyes.

(Milo and Yossarian are from Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. This is my all-time favorite book but it unfortunately doesn’t have many positive female characters so I was waiting for boys to use it. Yossarian is the main character, a bombardier in World War II who is determined to save his skin. He lives in a world of ridiculous risks, baffling rules, and strange comrades. Milo is the mess officer in the camp and is a whiz at gaming the black market. He makes huge amounts of money selling things at a loss – yes, you read that right. Your guess is as good as mine. Yossarian is strong, lustful, and stubborn. Milo is crafty, intelligent, and dedicated. Both men are trying to make good in a world that doesn’t make sense.)

Our hands were extra full now. We had our older girls, of course, but now there were two new babies who needed constant attention. Still, as busy as we were, I think Zethamae would have preferred to keep having kids, but I was done. My family finally felt complete now.

Mona started her first day at school. Thanks to Eowyn’s help, she made lots of new friends the very first day. When they weren’t at class, the girls were always together. Just like when Mona was little, they got up early to play before the school bus came. The only difference was that now they both got on the bus.

Death came for Nakoma while we were all busy with the kids. It was so sad. I was the only one home at the time – besides the babies, of course – so there was no one there to share my grief with. Nakoma had been part of my family since I was very little. I couldn’t believe we were losing her now. Even Belle, who had never been a close friend of Nakoma’s, seemed to cry for hours.

School kept our older two busy. Mona needed help learning to study, but once she got her grades up I called the local headmaster of the private school. He came over for dinner one evening and by the end of the meal, he happily accepted my girls into his school. They looked so cute in their little plaid skirts when they got ready for their first day at their new school. It meant making new friends, but that was never a problem for Eowyn and Mona was happy to tag along.

Grandma Menolly finally made an appearance one night. At first her ghost just went around and cried about her death, but she soon got the memo that all the ghosts at our house apparently get and was up and scaring people – like me! – in no time. I missed her and part of me was happy to see her again, to know that she was still around in some way, but I didn’t really appreciate the scaring.

Eowyn and Mona spent all their free time together. Now that she had her little sister to play with, Eowyn didn’t bring as many friends home on the bus. Instead, they told secrets, horsed around outside, and still got up early to play together every morning.

Even though most things were going pretty well, we went through a rough patch around that time. I made a bad choice at work and ended up getting busted back down to mascot. Eowyn broke a cello at school, which we had to pay for, and Mona built a squirrel-flinging birdhouse that caused the school to require that we pay for some therapy for her. It was kind of an expensive day. The girls seemed to weather it okay, though.

(All three chance cards happened on the same day. The squirrel-flinging-related therapy did make me laugh though.)

Zethamae and I had been so busy with the kids that it seemed like we hardly had time for our hobbies anymore, or, more importantly, for each other. We decided to make time and took up some new pursuits. We started writing novels and painting. Together we wrote 9 novels. You may recognize such titles as One Too Many Zebras, The Mystified Mouse, Stranger Strangers, and of course, my historical romance, Sumo, My Darling.

Birthday time came for the boys. I was so excited for our little babies to grow up. Although I was ready to move out of the world of baby bottles and dirty diapers, I was also a little sad that these were the last of my babies that I could snuggle. They grow up so fast.

We once again had a small party with just the closest family and a work friend to witness the occasion.

Like their older sisters, Yossarian and Milo grew into delightful young people. Yossarian was very outgoing, while Milo was much shyer like Mona. Both boys were very cleanly and neat as well. Like all my children, they both tended toward being a little serious.

(Yossarian’s personality is 8/10/6/3/6. Milo’s is 10/1/8/4/8. Again with the weird faces, too.)

Mom and Dad were a big help with all the kids. Ever since they had been babies, the kids had their grandparents around to provide that little extra bit of love that grandparents are so good at giving. Mom and Dad both still worked full-time, but they made sure to spend as much time as they could with the kids.

Zethamae and I started the process of teaching the twins all their toddler skills. Once again as my boys went through a stage, I found myself missing these young days already. All too soon my littlest ones would be going to school, too.

The boys of course spent a lot of time together. Sometimes the girls even made time to play with them too. Yossarian and Milo were best friends nearly from the start, but they were only just barely friendly with their older sisters. For the most part, the girls still spent their time together. I was glad to see that they didn’t completely ignore their younger brothers, though.

The girls were getting older. Even as their brothers learned to walk and talk, they were learning all kinds of new skills. The girls studied hard when they weren’t in school or playing together. They both got very talented at the piano and there was frequently the sound of beautiful music wafting through the house.

I had several days off after my disastrous speech, so the first day I had to go back was also my first day as a mascot. As a college graduate, I had bypassed these humiliating stages when I first started working, but now I was right back under the mask.

It seemed all too soon, but Eowyn’s birthday came around again. Now she would be growing into a teenager. It was hard for me to believe that my firstborn was already getting so old, but here we were, blowing our horns for Eowyn.

As a teenager, Eowyn’s former prissy nature evolved into a ladylike sensibility. She was such a beautiful young woman and she dressed so elegantly. Now that she was taller once again, Mona could literally look up to her older sister!

Eowyn said that she wanted to dedicate her life to family just like Zethamae. She also said she was really into grilled cheese. Not sure where that came from, but it is her life to lead as she pleases.

Like nearly every day, the house was full of love and we just couldn’t keep it in. Spontaneous shows of affection broke out after the party.

(It’s always nice when sim couples like each other enough to be all lovey-dovey on their own. The house seriously does look like this all the time.)

Thanks to real estate trading, Dad reached a lifetime want late in life. He made $100,000 by buying and selling shops in town. We had enough money saved up that he was able to be fairly free with his purchases. I know that reaching that milestone brought him a lot of satisfaction.

Eowyn got really into friends again as a teen and spent a lot of time on the phone. When she wasn’t socializing, she picked up a part time job in the oceanography career. I was surprised that our dainty, sweet daughter was willing to prance around in a swimsuit so often, but the job seemed to make her happy and she was good at it.

(So . . . about that godawful swimsuit . . . I have default replacements for the swimsuits in the game, and most of them are better, but the ones that the game uses for jobs are all really ugly and I always forget that until someone gets a job in oceanography at the right levels. I get frustrated, but I soon forget about it until the next time. Maybe some day I’ll delete them.)

Yossarian and Milo’s toddler days seemed to go so fast. One day they were playing in the nursery . . .

. . . and the next day we were bringing them to the cake for their birthday.

Yossarian and Milo grew into fine little boys. They still let me dress them in matching outfits. Yossarian took to wearing a necklace that he had made in a craft class, and Milo started wearing a watch and became very punctual. They liked to joke that this helped people tell them apart, as though they were identical. Silly boys.

Yossarian was very tired on his birthday and although I sent the boys to bed as soon as they’d had their cake, he never made it to his new big boy bed. He fell asleep right there on the carpet next to it instead! You’d think he could have made it a few more feet.

Eowyn was a very busy young woman. She paid attention to all of her siblings, doling out advice and love or playing with them. She continued to do well in school and at her job, and she had decided that it was time Belle learned some tricks. Their training session went on long into the night, but Belle eventually learned one trick. I think Eowyn may have given up on her after that.

Of course, nothing occupied her time quite like her new boyfriend, Charlie. He was our newsboy so she always rushed out every morning to give him a kiss when he stopped by. They went on a few dates, but we made them stay close by, to keep an eye on them. I couldn’t believe my little girl was dating already!

All of the kids continued to improve their skills. Eowyn took up painting, while Mona preferred to stick with the piano. She loved giving little concerts to whoever was passing through the room. The boys started studying on the weekends to catch up with their sisters’ high skill levels. I think all of them knew that one day one of them would be the next legacy heir, and they wanted to be ready for it.

The time came for Mona’s birthday. We gathered around the table as we had done so many times before and cheered her on.

Mona grew into a very lovely young lady. She still had a pretty casual style, but she had picked up an interest in dating and dressed a bit more feminine. She said that’s why she picked romance as her secondary aspiration. Her first was fortune, just like her grandpa.

Now that she was a teen and thinking about money, all Mona wanted was to get a job. She soon found a position as a paralegal and was making good money for a teen.

Now that I’d had a few promotions, my work hours changed and we needed someone to be home for the boys for a few hours when school got out. Before we adults could even work out who would stay home, Eowyn volunteered. She said that she felt she had gotten enough out of her job, and she’d rather spend her time with her brothers. I think that was definitely her family side coming through. She was a great help with them all the time, but it was especially nice to know they were being looked after when school was over.

The boys got plenty of attention, in fact. Zethamae and I continued to be devoted parents and we spent lots of time helping with homework, kissing booboos and tucking the boys in. Eowyn also spent a lot of time with them, and even Mona pulled herself away from her job long enough to play occasionally.

Mona and Eowyn continued to be early risers. Now that they were both teenagers, they tended to talk more than play, but I think they still fit a game in now and then.

The boys took after their older sisters and got up to play and chat before the bus came. All of my children are definitely morning people!

After much begging and whining, we finally decided to allow Eowyn to go on a date with Charlie downtown. It made me nervous, but he had proven himself to be a respectful and nice boy, so I tried to put my fears aside.

As it turned out, the most dangerous thing downtown was actually a witch! Eowyn ran into both a good and bad witch, who took turns changing the weather and summoning cats. Eowyn said that she really enjoyed meeting them and that she actually hit it off pretty well with the bad witch. Not sure how I feel about that one.

Meanwhile, despite her secondary aspiration, Mona didn’t start any relationships or go on any dates. Instead, she just liked to make music and money. She often wanted to play instruments more than anything else. We took to jokingly calling her “Musical Mona”.

In some ways, my girls were very different. They definitely had different focuses for their life. One thing they did share in common was their love for their younger brothers. The boys sought out their sisters all the time for attention, and the girls, to their credit, obliged.

Now that the twins were school age, I decided I wanted to get them into the same academy that Eowyn and Mona attended. Once again we had the headmaster over and once again he easily accepted my children into the program. Now I had four kids trundling off to school in snazzy uniforms. Zethamae and I felt relieved that the kids would be getting a good education.

As the kids were getting older and doing more of their own things, Mom and Dad began spending a lot of time in the hobby room. Both of them enjoyed dance, but Dad liked the drums too, and Mom was a bit of a hobby busybody. No one could paint or throw pottery without her watchful eye.

With their skills high enough for scholarships, Mona and Eowyn brushed up on their creative side. Eowyn purely enjoyed painting, but Mona of course spent plenty of time on the instruments.

The boys still had more studying to do, but they spent a lot of free time in the playroom or out on the lawn.

Yossarian, my more outgoing son, loved telling stories about the games he played.

Milo, the shyer one, still had a bit of an attention-seeking side. He made great friends with his cousin Fabala and he loved to show off for her. It was funny to see him going outside of his comfort zone, but I guess he wanted to impress her.

My promotions were coming fast and furious, but I still was several levels away from regaining my place as a Hall of Famer. Zethamae was very encouraging and helped me keep my spirits up through the whole process.

(I really wanted to get her back to Hall of Famer before I had to pass her on, but it was not to be. Sorry, whoever’s next! She just had too many days off and even with a promotion every workday, it was a mathematical impossibility. Stupid chance card.)

The night of their birthday, the boys spent most of the evening in the study enjoying a break from skilling. They read a few children’s stories before the party started. This time, it was a large party thanks to a number of school friends and coworkers being over at the time.

I could hardly believe my babies were growing up. No more sweet little kids. No more running to hug me when I came home. Now all my children would be teenagers. However, I was so proud of them and seeing them grow into such fine young men was gratifying on its own, as well.

On their birthday, Yossarian let me know that he had chosen romance and popularity for his aspiration. His outgoing nature clearly led him to want to be a well-liked fellow. Milo took a much more serious approach and chose knowledge and family. I was so delighted with both my boys.

(I finally figured what was wrong with their faces. Milo’s chin and nose explosion convinced me of something I had suspected for a while – Zethamae must be a female version of the Kennedy Cox face. Curse you, deceptive female faces!)

And that’s the story of my family. My kids, Eowyn, Mona, Yossarian, and Milo, are all teenagers now, looking at the prospects of college and the adult world. I’ve lived a life full of love with my chosen, Zethamae, and our love only multiplied when each new child joined the family. I am a lucky woman.

(Now for the vote. Click ahead for details on the kids.)

Eowyn McMania

6/9/7/4/10

Family/Grilled Cheese

Mona McMania

6/1/8/3/10

Fortune/Romance

Yossarian McMania

8/10/6/3/6

Romance/Popularity

Milo McMania

10/1/8/4/8

Knowledge/Family

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