Pararil was crawling around as a toddler before I knew it. Things have been so peaceful recently that time flows effortlessly. Every day is fun despite that there are two toddlers in the house. While Pararil looks so much like Kedo, I was surprised to see that he didn't end up with green hair. Perhaps my genes simply overpowered Kedo's, or perhaps the green isn't natural as I assumed and the abnormal coloring is actually the result of dyeing for once.
Moon and Kedo both came to see Nioniel and Pararil, though not at the same time. As I suspected, once Moon saw Pararil in addition to Iselith, Saradith, Anithien, and Elridia he made the comment that it was obvious I get around a lot. I had so many children, so how could he be sure I hadn't made a mistake in claiming he was Nioniel's father? I had no proof to give him other than to let him and Nioniel meet. Surprisingly, and rather joyously, once Moon met her I could visibly see by his expression that his heart softened. He made no more attempts at trying to weasel his way out of taking responsibility. In fact, he actually apologized as well. It made me smile to watch him play with his daughter for a good long time. I am glad I gave him the chance he needed to come around.
Kedo's meeting with Pararil went well, although not as miraculously as Moon and Nioniel's. His actions and words made me suspicious that he wouldn't have cared about Pararil so much if he had turned out to be a girl. I was annoyed somewhat. Still, I know I can't get angry over what-ifs. Kedo was here bonding with his son, and that's what mattered.
The girls wanted to throw a gift giving party. I remembered to the last one we threw with fondness. I wish all of my children getting like that together was something we do every year, but with us so separated now it will probably not happen for a long long time to come. After giving my permission to the girls, I left them in charge of the arrangements. It probably wasn't the wisest idea for Iselith and Saradith invited a lot of people over.
The party began, and I found Iselith with Goopy GilsCarbo and Saradith with Orlando Romano. Each pair was sticking quite close together. It seems that the twins were excited to use this party as an excuse to bond better with the boys they liked. I watched the four of them very closely. Unfortunately, Nikara really has made it harder for me to have complete trust in my other children now. Iselith, Goopy, Saradith, and Orlando all stayed within plain sight the entire time though. I would find out later that Orlando asked Saradith to be her girlfriend.
The best part of the party, as you might assume, was the opening of the gifts. Due to the fact that most people brought multiple gifts, everyone got more than one. I ended up receiving a bicycle and coal, as a joke present surely. A bicycle was always something I considered getting ever since I moved here. It's much faster than walking, and it has no harmful impact on the environment like cars do. However, the problem is that I don't know how to ride it. I really don't want to look foolish.
The girls got some good presents for themselves. I was amazed to see how easily people were willing to buy expensive objects before giving them away. We received a brand new laptop, a bee spring rider for Elridia, two beautiful vases, and a few umbrellas. I was most grateful for the umbrellas. I don't understand why, but even though the ones I buy are of good quality, they seem to break almost instantly.
The party went very late, and everyone was exhausted by the time it ended. I'm sure it wasn't just our family who had trouble getting up the next morning.
Dealing with Nioniel and Pararil is easy when the older girls are around to help. However, things become so much more difficult once they leave. Nioniel and Pararil always seem to need the same thing at the same time. Their unique talent of crying in unison leaves me with headaches I've never had before. I see now that I became spoiled with Eloril's presence since he was there all day to help me out. Thankfully, Nioniel's birthday is coming up soon. It's actually the same as Iselith and Saradith's.
Very sadly though, the day before their birthday was the day of Vincentio's funeral. Winter hadn't been kind to him at all, and he had spent the past couple weeks in the hospital. When spring came we thought that he would get better. We lost him instead. What made things even worse was that Elridia and the rest of us had to stand some distance away during the funeral. It was only once it was over that we were able to pay our respects properly.
Elridia's older sister by Vincentio and his late wife, Isabella, was completely devoted to her mother. She was so angry that her father had slept with another woman on a whim and had another child. Isabella wanted nothing to do with her little sister. Elridia said she doesn't care if Isabella likes her or not because she has enough sisters already. Even having to stand further away at the funeral didn't upset her. The only thing that wounded Elridia's heart was the loss of her father.
I feel like she's dealing with all of this very maturely though. I think that is because we all knew Vincentio's death would be coming sooner rather than later. Elridia had time to prepare her heart. I wish I had done that with Elrunamir. He told me so many times not to ignore the fact of his inevitable death. It would be better if I started to come to terms with it while he was still there with me. Of course, he had been right as always. Ignoring reality made everything so much worse.
Elridia cheered up considerably the next day when Nioniel had her birthday. Now she had someone to play with. As I suspected, Nioniel looks so much more like Moon now that she's gotten older. There's no way he can deny their connection, not that he ever tried to push that argument after he met her. The two have grown close even though Moon remains legitimately busy with work.
To spread the birthdays out, we celebrated Iselith and Saradith's in the evening. They were rather upset about their birthday being today for it meant that they would miss prom. Anithien had to go by herself. Iselith and Saradith told me their plans, and I was surprised to find out they wouldn't be staying together. Iselith was moving into a place with some friends. Saradith was going to buy a small house so Orlando could move in once he graduated. I hugged them both for a long time, but had to let them leave. That bittersweet feeling returned when I watched them walk out the door.
The weather was absolutely wonderful the next Sunday. We decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to head to the park. I find the park here to be much more attractive than the ones in Appaloosa Plains. The parks there were made for animals and owners to enjoy themselves. However, there was no real point in going there if you didn't have a pet. Now I have a place to let the children run about freely and play around other than the backyard. There were so many other people there as well. Appaloosa Plains seems so dead and dull compared to Monte Vista and its passion for fun living.
The only thing that spoiled our day was the rain that forced us home after an hour.
The plan for dinner that night was to finish off the rest of the pepperoni pizza. It was just as we were about to eat that we realized it had spoiled. It has been such a long time that something has sat around long enough to spoil. I've gotten used to the food being devoured so quickly that I can barely keep up. Having two less mouths to feed has really messed up my cooking schedule.
Anithien and I quickly whipped up some lasagna and garlic bread to eat instead.
I often took Pararil outside as I continued to teach him what he needs to know. He's recently picked up the last of what I can give him though. After the girls left for school and I distracted him with toys, I invited over Mr. Corey Noise. I met him on our park outing. We spent the morning talking away. It was after lunch when we headed upstairs to them bedroom. I was careful to make sure he had left before Anithien, Elridia, and Nioniel returned though.
I haven't faltered in explaining to my children why I must do what I'm doing. However, it is still embarrassing to have a relatively unknown man walking about the house clearly having just spent some intimate time with me.....
Be First to Post Comment !
Post a Comment