Eisenstern 2.6
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It seems Gabriel has taken on the arduous task of teaching his little sister to talk. She’s learning at a decently speedy rate, so I can’t say he’s doing too badly! Maybe someday he’ll be a teacher. Maybe not.
It’s good to see the kids getting along as well as they do. Avery mentioned off-hand one morning that I’d have to decide which of them would be taking over the legacy after me, and I sort of froze, like a deer in headlights, and wondered how on earth dad managed to make that decision himself.
Then again, I was the only one of my siblings born a spellcaster. I suppose that particular decision had technically made itself. But given Bryn’s the only one of us not terrible at everything, I figured for sure it’d be her.
Lucky him. I still have to decide.
There’s time. Hilda’s still figuring out how to form complete sentences when talking to the cat.
Diaval, for his own, doesn’t seem to favour one of the kids over the other. He spends an equal amount of time around either one, looking as if they’re offending his good sensibilities or something. (Diaval, they’re kids, be nice.) He used to be a kitten too, don’t let him fool you.
I think all that gourmet food dad’s been feeding him has been getting to his head. I did pick up the trend, too. Maybe I shouldn’t have.
Father came by again, and as he does, he set the table for us. It was kind of nice to have the table set again. I got used to it being set when we were kids, as father always did it (especially around holidays), but I haven’t been able to remember doing it myself.
I hear I’m kind of a perfectionist, so it’s kind of weird that I’m not constantly setting the table and adjusting things in the kitchen. I even put armchairs in there for the kids, so that when they wake up hungry, they can just go get something and sit down right there in the kitchen. They can reach the fridge ever since we got the model that fits into the counter.
One thing about father that does bug me is when he comes by and insists on talking to the kids when they’re trying to eat. They get distracted very easily, and occasionally will get so caught up in talking to their grandfather that they forget there’s food in hand.
Gabriel’s a polite boy and doesn’t like to take his attention off whoever’s talking to him when they’re actively speaking. It’s a strange habit to have developed, but I’m glad he’s that polite. It’s a good thing, and I think it’ll serve him pretty well in the future.
Just like her brother, Hilda’s a sweetheart. A little annoying when I’m trying to have me-time and she insists on following me around the house, but, she’s still a sweetheart, and I have to remember to be forgiving. She’s a baby, she doesn’t understand how important mommy’s me-time is.
Most of the time, at least, the me-time consists pretty much exclusively of me writing music. My career as a musician has at least been going very well, and I’ve licensed a number of songs so far. It was surprising anyone even wanted to license my music, and it’s a weirdly good feeling when there’s a production or a company that’s interested.
Hilda’s favourite thing is being read to, and occasionally she’ll ask me to read her to sleep. I don’t remember my parents ever doing this kind of thing with me or my siblings, but they were both pretty busy people, so I suppose I can’t fault them for it. Our childhood wasn’t the absolute best, maybe, but we got what we needed and, usually, what we wanted, too.
It’s nice to be around and able to share these moments with my kids. Gabriel’s not much for being read to the way Hilda is. He wants to hurry up and get older, but I hope he gets to spend a little more time being a baby before he grows up. Having a proper childhood is important, and this is the time to make memories with his sister. Someday, they’ll be grown and maybe one or the other will be moved out, and it’ll be tougher to stay in touch.
Bryn and I fortunately manage to find time to go out to brunch here and there, out to our parents’ favourite restaurant. Nine East, of course. Even if that place changes ownership a thousand times, I’ll probably still go there.
One thing Hilda doesn’t seem to be terribly good at is sharing.
Gabriel got a hold of one of her toys and sat on her bed playing with it, and she just did not like that at all. She’s young, so there’s time to curb this behaviour, and Avery and I did sit her down and have a talk about it. She’ll come around.
And maybe Gabriel could use to offer to play with her, too, rather than just stealing her toys. He seemed quite surprised when we suggested that.
I managed to dig out the old tunnels and ball pit system dad got us a long time ago. Surprisingly, all the pieces still fit together, nothing’s rusted or broken, at least, not enough that Avery couldn’t fix it. It looks as good as I remember it!
Gabriel’s sure enjoying playing with it. It’s unfortunate I didn’t think to find it until it was already almost his birthday! He won’t fit in the tunnels once he’s a kid anymore, but he doesn’t seem too heartbroken about it.
If nothing else, he got this one day to play with it.
And the birthday boy aged up into a child! And I started wondering where the time had gone!
It’ll be my birthday in a few weeks. I’m looking forward to it, and also not. I keep wondering if maybe I’ll try and discover that immortality potion after all, like my parents did, but really, the point of life isn’t living forever. It’s fitting as much life as you can into the time you have. In a way, nothing lasting forever is how we find meaning in some of those things.
Sounds like the start of a song. I’ll work on it.
With Gabriel now a bigger boy, Diaval seems to have reverted to watching over Hilda. Maybe the weight of having Diaval with her helps her sleep better. I hope so. And now I wonder if Diaval will prioritise watching the toddlers over the kids.
Avery and I have decided we’re done having children, so I suppose a future generation will discover that, not us. It’s fun to leave a little mystery or two for them.
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