March 3: Has Mom jumped the shark?

I wonder if Mom has jumped the shark.
I read in the papers that she took full legal custody of my little cousin, Uncle Bassy's daughter Kaydence, who's now 13.

What I've heard and read is that Kaydence is extremely smart.  She scored in the 2000s on her college admissions test, at age thirteen.   (The max is 2400, which puts that in perspective.) That score is higher than any of our scores, and we were high school seniors when we took the test.  Mom now has her taking college-level courses at the university.  I've heard that she reads everything she could put her hands on, and she is writing a series of books based on a futuristic utopia she created.

The other thing I've heard that's incredibly stunning to me, is that she and my sister, Sierra, are pals and hang out a lot.

You've got to understand something about my sister.  My sister is a loner, she pretty much hates everyone.  So to see her connect like she has with Kaydence is unusual, indeed.

This move by mom came without warning, and even my dad seems blindsided by it.  But that is mom, though.  When she wants something, she gets it - no matter what.  I always admired that about her.

For one thing, I'm seeing stuff I've NEVER seen out of mom before.  Mom giving hugs and kisses freely?  Even when we were young, she never did stuff like that.  I wanted her to, but I accepted that she was more cerebral.  Dad was the one doling out the affection.

This mom is a completely different person - and I'm not sure I can get used to it. Kaydence has brought something out of her that I've never seen before.

I've spent most of my time lately in Appaloosa Plains with Kyle establishing our organic farm and our home for troubled youth, but I've been keeping up with the events in Sunset Valley through frequent phone calls, emails, and texts.

I've only met Kaydence twice, but I've heard from multiple people that she is very, very bright.  I've also heard that she's been hanging out with Sierra - Sierra, of all people.

Kaydence's mother, the international pop star Madison Avenue, has had little to do with her since Uncle Bassy won custody.  I can't imagine casting your own child away. 

I've also heard that Kaydence is an aspiring writer.  Which explains, at least at some level, her connection with Mom.  Our family continues to make writers, artists, and musicians.

 

Sometimes I wonder why my mom decided to do this.  But then I realize in my mind that the main reason is my uncle Bassy.  I mean, the guy, I love him to pieces, but he was not ready to be a dad.  

 

My uncle is still basically a kid himself.  And I don't mean physically.  (Yes in that pic he was temporarily turned bright pink by one of Kaydence's science experiments, from what I understand)

He left Sunset Valley and became a massive film star, before it all went south for him.  His fans still recognize him as 'that guy who was in those movies.'

The day Jazz Lyric came home from the hospital, we had a get-together at his rental.  And Uncle Bassy was the one kicking my brother AJ's butt in Madden football.

Oh, I fibbed.  I met Kaydence a third time, at that get-together for her half-brother.

Kaydence was talking randomly about constellations over Uncle Bassy's key lime pie.  (Another thing about Uncle Bassy is he is a fabulous cook) 

Wedding (part 1)

Hi guys!  Looong time no see! 

Guess what?

Kyle and I got married!  

After going over several potential wedding sites, we decided to do it right on the family compound, in the backyard of the house my grandparents built.  It overlooks the sea and has a view of the famed Sunset Valley lighthouse.

Kyle's not a hard to please guy.  He gets excited over folding lawn chairs.

Dad is dad, of course.  He wasn't very happy about the amount of money Mom spent on the wedding.  I told them I would have been happy with a simple ceremony in the park.

But because Mom is mom and she believes in the idea of a grand spectacle because that's who she is, she insisted on having something to show. 
Mom doesn't do anything small.  She never has. 

When we were planning the wedding, I tried to explain to Mom that I really didn't need her to go to all the trouble she was willing to go to.  After all, she was busy with three classes of university students to teach, and my sister Skylar's music career to guide, and my brother Sawyer to get through school without incident.  Not to mention she's now the legal guardian of my cousin, Kaydence.

 

Mom didn't react very well when I showed her my wedding dress.  In fact... I'm not too sure she reacted at all.  I couldn't see her facial expression too well.   In fact, of the two of us, I believe Mom was more nervous.

 Nevertheless, I tried to relax before the wedding by reading a book.  

Right before the wedding, Kyle tried to use the deep fryer... and it caught fire.   Right with my uncle Bassy standing right there.

Luckily, Kyle is a trained firefighter (he joined right after graduation) and got out the fire extinguisher to put it out.

While all this was going on, Mom was in the laundry room doing laundry.

And Dad was outside inspecting the setting. 

Kaydence

My little cousin, Uncle Bassy's daughter Kaydence, is now living with Mom and Dad.  They have temporary legal custody of her while Uncle Bassy works on his new TV show.

I'm actually not entirely sure how to feel about this. I really don't know enough about the situation to comment on it. 

Kaydence, to be sure, has had it pretty rough.  When she was six years old she walked in on Uncle Bassy wrapped in an embrace with her nanny.  Then, right after that, her parents fought over her in a custody dispute, which Uncle Bassy 'won.'
For six years, she's been living with Uncle Bassy in Starlight Shores, but he decided to take her to Sunset Valley to meet us for the first time.

I've actually only met Kaydence twice, once this past Feast Day and the other time at Snowflake Day.  Uncle Bassy sent pictures of her when she was little. 

 
She seems like a sweet kid, though, and I've heard she's very, very bright. 

Skylar's concert

Wow... is that Skylar???
I woke up and there's my sweet baby sister who followed me everywhere... doesn't look much like a baby anymore.  She's turned into a ravishing beauty!
She's dressed to the nines with dark chestnut extensions down her back and more makeup than Madison Avenue wears in a year. 
The reason?  She's a performer in the spring Simfest.

 

Even AJ showed up for this one, and he NEVER goes to these.

 

 

After the magician got on stage, juggling fire sticks and having one fall right on his head...

 

 

Skylar got up and she acknowledged what it took for AJ to get there to see her.  "It means a lot to me to have you out here supporting me, big brother," Skylar said before beginning her song. 

 

 

She spotted Uncle Bassy in the crowd, too, and waved to him.

 

 

I said hi to Mom, who had come out with Skylar.

 

 

Baby Sis opened her mouth. And mine fell to the ground.  She is going to be a star, I thought.   She's going to blow up, and soon.

 

                           

 

I still have memories of when she was little and singing in the mirror.  And it wasn't that long ago!

 

 

Her stirring rendition of 'Oogie Fever' wowed the crowd.  She looked like she belonged out there. 

She didn't win the Simfest, though - that distinction went to another performer.  But she was definitely on the upswing. 

 

 

After the Simfest was over, Skylar and AJ spent a few moments together.  "I remember changing your diapers, girl," AJ joked.  "You looked so grown up out there on that stage, I couldn't believe it was you."

Skylar smiled.  "Yeah, it's me.  Thanks for coming.  It meant a lot to me to have you there." 

Just then her phone rang.  It was her agent.  My baby sister has an agent?!?

November 12

There was a time, very briefly, in my childhood, when we looked like a happy family.

There was a time when Mom, Dad, Imsety, Satis, AJ and I lived together in peace and joy. 

Somehow, that peace and joy was broken, and we became the fractured clan that we are today.  A clan that bears little resemblance to the one with which I grew up.

I think it started with the birth of my little sister Sierra.  Mom and Dad were not expecting her, and Mom just seemed overwhelmed with it all.  And by that time, our nanny Halima had already left, so mom and dad were on their own with her.

The other big bombshell that dropped for us was when my brothers, AJ and Imsety, were sent to Fort Starch.  I think that, even more than Sierra's birth, was the straw that broke the camel's back.

At the time it happened, I was still a child, so I couldn't understand why my brothers had to go away, or what they had done that was so bad that they had to go away.  It made me depressed.  My sister Satis tried to make me understand, but her gentle explanations still didn't help me feel better. 
It wasn't Sierra's fault that our family started tearing apart when she was born.  Nor was it AJ or Imsety's faults.  I just think it was the stress that combined to just tear us loose, to the point where none of us have real relationships anymore.

Dad, he tried to duct-tape us together, eating dinners with us and doing what he could to hold us together, but mom just seemed, you know, checked out.  It was like, she got so caught up in her career and its successes that she lost sight of what was really important.

By the time my youngest sister and brother were born, Mom had really checked out, and our butler Max made it really easy for her to do it.  Poor Max was so overwhelmed with my little sister Skylar when she was born that he almost quit. 
Whatever happened, somewhere along the way, we forgot how to be a family.  We forgot the basics.