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What, 30th birthday? With this small introductory comment, I just want to point out that way more time that it feels like has passed already, that we are already at chapter 15 into this generation, and that Rowan and Juno are uncomfortably close to the end of the "young adults" life stage already. Also, as someone who turned 30 not so long ago, I just want to comment: this topic makes me anxious, argh!
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From Rowan's diary
Months have passed, we're very close to Winterfest now. The weather has swang a lot in the last few weeks, and it now seems quite sure that the city will soon be hit by a quite remarkable cold wave in the next days.
So this is what snow looks like... It's a little too cold for my tastes, but on the other hand seeing the whole landscape so covered by the white blanket is very suggestive.
Juno: It's so cold!
Rowan: They say that the cold air has arrived much further south than usual, it's because of an instability of the polar vortex or something like that.
Juno: Yes, even if the snow is so beautiful to watch, that part didn't sound very promising.
Rowan: Yeah.
Juno: Anyway, today it's still Winterfest. So...
This time I knew Juno enough to be sure that she would have brought some gift today, and so I was able to buy something for her in advance. The funny part about presents is that they should be reciprocated, after all.
Juno: Oh, thank you!
Rowan: You're welcome.
While Juno was putting that gift in her pocket, I remembered something else she told me a long time ago: sooner or later she would have wanted to see snow so she could have a snowball fight. Well, there's a lot of snow now, and it can't be that different from throwing water balloons, so…
Rowan: Juno?
Juno: Yes?
Juno: (playful) Ah ah, so you chose war!
Not knowing when we would have another chance to do it again, we played snowballs until we were completely soaked and cold. It doesn't even feel like being in the city at times like that.
But, alas, that wasn't the only commitment planned for the day: Juno and her colleagues had organized a fundraiser special event in the centre, so she and her colleagues were required to be present throughout the afternoon. They were also told to bring their families, and so (after a very needed warm shower) I found myself joining in too.
Juno: I don't get it, why organize such an event outdoors during a snowstorm? They're using a lot of electricity to heat up the place for the guests, but this is just a huge waste!
Rowan: It certainly doesn't seem like an event organized by a company that promotes environmental awareness, that's for sure.
Juno: (sighing) Let's say this is not the best start...
Juno's work that evening may have seemed easy in some ways, she was supposed to explain to some rich guests why it was worth it to finance their project. Yet, I wouldn't have found it easy at all. It's the kind of job that requires to say the right thing at the right moment and in the right way, something she's definitively way better than me at.
Juno: Sirs, even though the place has been heated up, don't you think it's a bit excessive to use the swimming pool, given the weather?
???: Why? The water is very hot, you should try it too!
Juno: ... Anyway, that's not the point. Have you ever heard about...
Rowan: You did great tonight, you should have heard the insults that some of your colleagues received instead.
Juno: Oh.
Rowan: (puzzled) Is something wrong?
Juno: Don't worry, I was just surprised for a moment. I mean, up to now all I heard from people was: "Juno, you look amazing tonight!", I didn't expect to... Ahm, never mind.
Rowan: Uhm...
Juno: In any case, tonight we needed to raise funds and we succeeded, and that's it. Also, I'm quite tired, can we return back home?
Rowan: Hey, what are you up to?
Juno: (chuckling) Can't you tell? We're trying to make you jealous, aren't we?
Rowan: (a bit amused) I see...
I let the joke linger for a bit longer, before returning serious and commenting:
Rowan: Can we talk?
Rowan: You seemed a little worried at the fundraiser. Are you all right?
Juno: Oh. Well, it's nothing to worry about. I have just a bit more thoughts in my head than usual, that's it.
Rowan: Did something happen?
Juno: Well... I remembered that my birthday will be soon, and that this time I'll turn 30. I mean, that's a quite big threshold, we're no longer that young, right?
Rowan: …
Juno: And it also makes me think that, when a few years ago I imagined myself as a thirty-year-old, I always saw myself with a good job, in a house of our own, and maybe even with children, who knows... Now I have you, I have a quite decent job, but... But I feel terribly late with everything else. I'm starting to think I'm being left behind, that at this rate we'll never get there, that's what.
I thought about it for a moment before answering, but the only thing I could say was:
Rowan: I think we're on the same boat, then.
Juno: ...
Rowan: (thoughtfully) Perhaps, if this is the case, we should start discussing it seriously, to decide how we should move from here on.
Juno: (gathering courage) Yes, for sure none of these things would come true if we just stayed here and waited.
So, just like we did when we decided to get married, we talked for I don't know how long, trying to dissect the issue in all its facets.
Juno: So, would you like to have children?
Rowan: Honestly, I always had the impression that all the children I ever met disliked me... But I always thought that I would become a parent, sooner or later. What about you?
Juno: I find them very funny instead, I think I'd have fun being a mom.
Rowan: I see.
Objectively, we would have preferred to start by focusing on finding a bigger house to buy, so that we no longer would have to worry about rent and we'd have plenty of space, and only then take into consideration the idea of having kids. Unfortunately, however, house prices here in Sim City are truly prohibitive, and if we waited to be able to buy and renovate a house we would risk waiting for way too long. Thus...
Juno: (determined) So it's decided. We'll start looking for a child now, and in the meantime we'll try to get the money together for a bigger house as quickly as we can.
Rowan: It's decided, yes.
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About six months later
Juno: This movie is so sad!
We were actually quite lucky, because it wasn't long before Juno realized she was pregnant. She started to suspect that it may have been the case when, suddenly, every single movie she watched made her cry her eyes out, and the test confirmed it soon later.
The news made us extremely happy, but we were also very aware of all the work we still had to do. Juno always tried to work practically as much as before, but she also had to look after her health. It was immediately clear to me how her pregnancy made her tired much quicker than usual, not to mention the nausea and everything else. In short, if there was anyone who had to work harder to save some money for the child we were about to have and for our future home, that was me.
So I started publishing my legal essays and doing some evening jobs, which, added to my normal job, soon filled my days (and a good chunk of my nights too). It was very tiring, but it also felt like I was doing the right thing too.
Rowan: Are you okay?
Juno: Well, all in all, yes. But this belly is starting to weigh quite a bit...
Rowan: Maybe you could ask to work from home a little more often, or something like that.
Juno: Ahm, maybe I'll think about it, at some point. But for now I'm doing well-enough, don't worry. Rather, didn't you say you wanted to go to the office earlier today?
Rowan: Yes, in fact I was about to go out. My boss said there may be some new papers about that money laundering case to analyse.
Juno: I see.
Responsibilities, projects, and everything else make me remember some things my parents told me when I was a kid. I admit that I understand them much better now, for sure.
We set a big goal, that's clear to everyone. But I'm not the kind of person who is scared of rolling up his sleeves and work harder, nor is Juno. Actually, my dissatisfaction at work was probably making me slow down more than I should, but having a new and close objective clear in mind definitively is helping me find again the motivation I was lacking. It's time to give my best and show what I'm capable of, and for sure it's not time to hold back. Don't you agree, my dear diary?
Next chapter -->
It was fun seeing them play snowballs together, after Rowan starting out as always work focused it's always nice to see him having fun and not being afraid to let out the inner child now and again. I feel bad for Juno at the event. I might be reading it wrong, but I wonder if she's so used to never being good enough for her parents that she wasn't used to all of those compliments. She really does look beautiful < 3
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they'll move back to Sulani to have children, or at least elsewhere? I imagine it'd be cheaper, probably nicer view too and a nicer place to raise the children. I'm so happy for them both and glad Juno is pregnant < 3 And maybe having kids will help give Rowan a sense of direction.
(Sorry if you get a comment twice on this chapter. I can't remember if I commented on this one or not!)
Thanks for the comment, as always!
DeleteI suspect that there aren't many other people Rowan would be playing snowballs with, he really has a soft spot for Juno (and she loves this kind on silly stuff!)
As for Juno at the event instead, I left it unclear in the text because the POV here is Rowan, and he doesn't really notice a lot of these things. Anyway, I would say that you're mostly right, she isn't used to hear: "You did well!" or "You're good at this!" a lot, for sure her parents very rarely told her anything like that, while for Rowan that's quite common instead. I tend to see the "you're beautiful" compliment as a different category instead, and so that Juno is quite conventionally pretty (at least in New Sixam, where it's normal to be... blue!) I see her as receiving a lot of these comments. Again Rowan is a bit of an outliner, as he doesn't tend to comment much on this aspect instead.
As for their plans about the "parents phase of their lives", most of these points are addressed in the following chapters, I can't say much now!