Chasing pirates

Round 10: Summer 2014


Sam Cooper is 36, Grace is 31 and Madelyn and Ross are 3.

Narrated by Sam Cooper

We were all so shocked when we heard the news of Olivia's death. Grace took it pretty hard especially since she hasn't been in touch with her family very much during the past few years. The saddest thing is that our kids will never really get to know their nana Olivia because they only met her a couple of times and are probably too small to remember her.

We took some flowers to Olivia's grave at the cemetery. It was a pretty emotional moment for both of us.

We stopped by at Café Carousel and treated us with some delicious cheese cake. I figured that Grace needed something else to think about.

Lately we've been talking about buying a house. We'd want more kids but our apartment is too small as it is. It would also be nice to have our own yard where the kids could play.

Kurt and Jack came over one day to discuss the future of the farm. Olivia didn't have a will and Kurt inherited Farmer's Market but he really doesn't have the interest or the skills to run the farm.

"I thought that you decided years ago that Jack would take over the farm one day", Grace said. "I know none of us wanted that day to come so soon but we have to face the reality."

It was nice to see Jack after a long time. And the kids really loved getting to know their uncle better.

Kurt said that Grace was entitled to something since Jack gets the farm.

"Sam told me that you're planning to buy a house. We'll help you with the down payment when you find your dream home" Kurt said to Grace's amazement.

"Dad, we can't let you do that. What about Frieda? And how would Jack and Paige feel if you gave away money that they've earned?" Grace said.

Kurt said that he had already talked about this with Jack and Paige and they supported his decision. After all, most of their money came from Kurt's work bonuses. They finally agreed that Kurt would deposit a certain amount of money on both Grace's and Frieda's bank accounts. I couldn't believe my ears when Grace told me. This means that we can start looking for the house now.

Grace has been working evenings and nights during her residency at Wellington Hospital but she was offered a position of a General Practioner on a near-by clinic. She gets the same salary but the hours are better so she accepted it. This means that we need to hire a nanny but it's nice that we have the evenings to ourselves now.

Dad said he'd be happy to help with the kids. I've never pictured him as a doting grandfather but he seems to enjoy it so who am I to say no. Grace is happy that she doesn't have to leave the kids with a complete stranger and the kids seem to love this arrangement too so it's perfect in every way.

Notes:

• Title from "Chasing pirates" by Norah Jones
• Sam was giving me trouble this round with the family portrait and the first pic at the cemetery. He didn't want to stay in the pose or on the OMSP, stupid man. I don't know why it's such a struggle sometimes to get a few pictures taken.
• I'll probably move this family into their new home before I play them the next time. It wouldn't be very realistic if it took them 2 years to move! And I want them to have more babies!
• I just realized that I have totally overlooked Wellington's 1st birthday! The first real family update was posted on December 18th 2008. I've been reading some of the older posts while I linked the pics to JustHost and it was pure agony LOL. I'd like to think my writing has improved during this year.