Desiree woke up at a decent hour again, and I think I have it figured out. I put her to bed pretty late after our sweet potato adventure, so maybe if we keep her awake until we’re about to fall out, she’ll keep normal sleeping hours. We go downstairs for breakfast instead of having a bottle in the nursery. This time we try mashed carrots. Again, she eyes the jar curiously, probably hoping for another round of sweet potatoes. I start up the airplane, but this time when the spoon gets close, she smacks the carrots off the spoon and plays in it, making a huge mess.
Like, where did that thought even come from? What about breakfast triggered playtime? I mean, she went to town on those carrots. My child woke up and chose violence. It was so random and kind of hilarious, honestly. Maybe they weren’t mashed enough for her tastes, heh.
“Uhh…I thought you were hungry,” I said. “You know that’s breakfast, right?”
She shrieked and giggled and looked so happy. I let her have fun and make a mess of everything in sight. Eventually she remembered what we were here for and let me feed her the carrots without any mishaps. Once again, she ate the whole thing.
“Was it good? Did you like it?”
Her face took me all the way out.
After all that fun and mess, the carrots were just okay I suppose. We’ll have to try them again another time. She’s getting to be so smart though, listening to the tone of our voices and learning our body language. I keep saying this, but it’ll never stop being true. I love watching her grow, especially on the heels of her birthday. Things in her brain and body are happening fast to prepare her for toddler life. I know she’s gonna own that too.
I got her bathed and cleaned up the mess. Around 11, we received an unexpected yet welcomed guest. Justin came by to check on me, and I appreciated it so much, even though we were getting ready to get dressed for the cemetery. Like I said before, we rarely hang out or talk, and my life could definitely use more testosterone, so I let him in. Less won’t mind the delay. It’s not like we’re itching to lay our mother to rest, anyway. I woke up with zero plans to do the memorial today, but Sophia checked me. My mind was on Desi, and she knew it. She said I’d been busying myself with her to avoid it. I didn’t see it that way, but she pointed out how I didn’t even talk about Mama anymore. The more I keep things inside, and longer I put this off, the harder it’s going to be, she said. She’s right; she always is. So I texted Less and told her today was the day.
Like everyone else who’s checked on me, he wanted to know how I’m holding up. His parents passed away many years ago as he is the youngest of five, with a substantial age difference between him and his older siblings. His parents had two sets of twins back to back and thought they were done. I guess they got a little reckless right before little Justin showed up, heh. His parents and the oldest brothers are gone, and the middle twins are quite old and probably on their way out soon, too. I knew he came from a big family, but that was news to me. I couldn’t imagine dealing with losing my entire family and living without them for so long. He was basically the only child, so he’s used to being alone. Still, I admire his resilience.
“How do you cope?” I asked.
He keeps himself busy, mostly. He has lots of friends because he frequents the karaoke bar where we met. He also joined a mixology club to meet like-minded sims and do what he loves. Working in a bar never appealed to him. The hours suck, and it only pays well at the highest levels. His social life was too important to give it a try, so he joined the Mixing Crew. It scratches the itch to make drinks while also creating a special bond between friends. I knew clubs like that existed, but never thought about finding one that suited me.
I loved learning more about him, and I especially appreciated the visit. We chatted for a little while longer before Sophia joined us and gracefully told him we had to leave. She knew I’d let him stay as long as he wanted and would put off this burial ordeal for another day. I love her so much. She keeps me in check and makes me do the hard things. Mama’s advice from ages ago flashed across my mind. Think about what you want for your life, find someone who fits, and don’t settle until you find her. Make sure she is the one person you can’t live without. Take your time. One and done. Sophia is definitely my one and only, and she fits my life so well I can hardly believe it sometimes. I’ve always been grateful for that speech Mama gave. Sometimes I think it’s the only thing that kept me focused when I was drowning in options, heh. I feel fortunate to have had a mother who cared enough to share her scars and the ugly parts of her life and had the hard conversations, just so we wouldn’t repeat her mistakes. (sigh) Let’s do this thing.
