Eisenstern 2.7
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Gabriel’s still as polite as a child as he was as a toddler. And he seems to have developed a very strong liking for Diaval, which I’m glad to see. Diaval’s a sweet kitty, and he’s been in our family for a long time. Dad tells me his ageing has also been frozen; he’ll be with the Eisensterns until the end of time, most likely, so we’d all best just get used to him.
I don’t have to ask Gabriel to help around the house, he does it mostly on his own. He’s often the one cleaning up the dishes after Hilda’s eaten, lightening Avery and I’s work load. He’s also taken to doing the laundry without being asked to do so.
He even asked to join the scouts. I thought it’d be good for him, so I decided to let him. Now he’s doing all kinds of things to earn badges, but it rewards his good behaviour with something tangible, and that’s a good thing.
Now Hilda’s able to read, and she likes to look at the books by herself. And, also eat them, but I wouldn’t expect much else from a two year old. Gabriel also liked to put strange things in his mouth, and I’d be surprised if neither myself or Cynemaer did the same.
Hmm, come to think, I bet teething stage was an interesting one with my twin brother. He was still a vampire…
Fortunately, despite their age difference now, Gabriel still spends time with Hilda. He’s usually helping keep her entertained when Avery and I are doing something else, and we appreciate that beyond words, too. I mean, he could only be doing it because there’s a badge for entertaining a toddler, but I’ll take it. Instilling good habits while he’s young is still a very good thing, and if someday he has children of his own, the experience of helping raise his little sister will be invaluable.
I’d say Freya helped prepare me for him and Hilda, but mostly Freya bothered Bryn. I can handle teenagers though. I got the teenagers.
Though of course, she never directly asked about being taught the value of apologising and saying please and thank you, Hilda did hear her brother say thank you and asked me what that meant. So, we went into a long lesson about manners and apologising and why it was important to be able to say sorry.
I don’t think she really understood a word I said, but, hopefully this conversation laid the groundwork for later teaching her beyond only the basics, and starts a solid habit of polite manners. It’s a good thing to be able to admit when you’ve messed up and apologise for your wrongs, as well. It’s a tough, but valuable social skill that’ll serve well in future.
I’m not entirely sure if I’m doing this mom thing right, but Avery hasn’t looked at me like I’ve hit my head on something yet, so I’ll take that as a good sign. In most things, especially when it comes to our kids, I do look to her for affirmation and guidance. We work as one. It’s sort of weird, but also kind of relieving to know that I’m not in this alone.
Besides, I still know dad’s phone number.
Freya came by, and spent some time talking to the kids, then went to go play at the basketball court. Unsurprisingly, that girl’s living a pretty active lifestyle now, and it’s good to see her feeling good about herself and happy. She and Kaylie are still together, and later got married, so that was really cool.
They’re also expecting their first baby! I’m jealous, you can’t even tell Freya’s pregnant! I also don’t know that she should be playing basketball while pregnant, but I guess if she’s careful…
Hilda’s doing well learning the things she needs to know. Actually, I think she’s learning faster than her brother, which is interesting given his insatiable love of learning. Maybe she’ll go into science someday, too, but in the meanwhile, she’s my most adorable little girl.
I’d like her and Gabriel to meet their cousins, but getting the family together at once seems to be a strangely difficult task. Well, everyone’s got their own lives to live now, so I shouldn’t be so surprised by it. Perhaps that’s not the way to say it. It’s not that I’m surprised. I’m more… disappointed. I love my kids, of course. But I have more than just my kids, and I’m disappointed that the ties with my siblings, which seemed so strong when we were kids, have frayed.
It’s not anyone’s fault. It just is.
Gabriel seems determined to set the house on fire. I suppose one of the bright sides of this is that his room is built of brick, and it’d be difficult for him to manage an actual, true fire.
Also, Avery and I are pretty handy with fire extinguishers.
Strangely, as I was thinking it was a shame the family had all started to fall apart, Cynemaer came by and had a visit with Gabriel. It was good to see them getting to know each other. I’ve never met his kids, he and Stella have two, the oldest is Adriana, and they had a little boy after named Kurtis, but he sends pictures through the family group text message.
Gabriel’s at least seen his uncle Cynemaer before-the house is littered with photos of me and my siblings as kids, and the wedding photos when dad and father got married-so he did recognise him before they talked.
Then, dad came by again, finally. I have weird ideas occasionally about dad being a secret government agent, and that’s why he just, comes and goes.
It was nice to see him again. It feels like he’s not been by since Gabriel was still in a crib, and that may not be far off of the truth. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t look any different than I remembered him. It was just nice to have him around again. I invited him in to talk to the kids.
I felt like the house needed a change, so I’d rebuilt it, and it turned out there was more space than I was expecting us to end up with. And the yard was covered in plants. The garden’s sure gotten big!
He spent a good deal of time talking to Hilda. She was awfully entertained by his stories, but I wasn’t surprised by that. Of course she was. Dad’s a really good storyteller. He always said how father was the one that wrote the books, so of course, he was the storyteller, but I think some of father’s books actually came from dad.
“Sulani’s not bad,” dad said. Hilda had gotten more interested in playing with her triceratops.
“Isn’t it really hot?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Kind of too hot for me. Sulani’s weather would be right up Morgyn’s alley, but it’s not really mine.”
“Maybe you should move somewhere else,” I said.
“Maybe,” dad answered. “But we’d have to decide where.”
“Here,” I said.
“What?”
“We’ve got the space, that’s all,” I said, shrugging. “It’d be good for the kids. I’m still not a very good spellcaster, and they’ll need someone who knows magic better to teach them later.”
“You’re doing just fine,” dad answered.
“I know,” I said. “I just… I miss you.” And I do. I miss everyone.
Dad sighed. “I’ll talk to your father,” he said. “But I don’t make any promises.”
Good thing I didn’t need promises.
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