Chapter 29 Mid-life Crisis? Not

Two families of growing importance in the neighborhood are related to but not part of the Genester legacy. Meadow Thayer Cormier, first love of Lester Genester, and Robi Charvat, Genesis Genester Enabler's first husband, both found love and contentment elsewhere and began new legacies.

At #5 Nostalgia Lane, home of Ricky and Meadow Cormier -last seen in chapter 22,

With a family as large as the Cormiers, it seemed someone was always having a birthday. Now it was Leigh's turn. And she wanted everyone there to celebrate with her.


All three of her big brothers have come as well as her oldest sister, Spring. And there is little brother Cliff. Leigh invited her best friend from school also, and Mom even brought another officer, Dorian Kauker, home from work with her, though he doesn't appear thrilled to find himself at a kid's party. But he gets in the spirit of things as Leigh blows out her candles. Ah, there is big sister Valley and little sister Dayle too.

Transition time now. Wow, Cliff is so excited he jumps halfway to the ceiling!
Everyone cheers as Leigh's transformation is complete. Ah, there is Dad cheering from the kitchen. Bet he has a scrumptious celebration meal ready. He is as good a cook as Meadow and gets home earlier. Leigh loves her new dress, just like her sister's. Fate has endowed her with the popularity aspiration and she has already collected quite a few friends.

Meadow is proud of her growing children but fears them all growing up, so she suggests they adopt another little one. Ricky agrees and soon they welcome another five year old into the family. This time a little boy named Craig.

Here is a better picture of him, after a haircut.

Still not content, Meadow wants an even younger child. It's been so long since there's been a toddler in the house. She longs to hold a warm little body in her arms again. She has granddaughter Brooke of course, but she doesn't get to see enough of her as she is really not comfortable visiting Lester's home. She wants the everyday caring for and cuddling of a little one again. And she still has lots of vacation to use up. So less than a year after adopting Craig, the Cormiers again apply to Social Services for another child. On the big day, she and Ricky take turns watching out the front window for the Social Services van. Ricky is the first to see the van pull up and the Social Worker lift their new child out.

He and Meadow are appalled when the woman just puts the child down on the lawn near the mailbox and leaves. Ricky rushed out to get him before he could crawl into the street. He found a tag pinned to the baby's shirt, saying "His name is Fenn." Well, Fenn is going to stand out a bit from the other children with that red hair and brown eyes. Everyone of the other kids has blue eyes and all but Dayle have black hair. But Meadow is blond so he won't look too out of place.

Little Fenn is only a year old so Meadow will have several years of childcare still ahead of her. But this child is the last. Social Services told Meadow that they would not be allowed to adopt any more children due to their advancing ages. Meadow is 54 now and Ricky 55. They will be elders long before Fenn finishes school. But Meadow is content. She has the ten children she always longed for. And what a fine family they are. She is so proud of all of them. She foresees a long and happy golden age ahead of her, with a growing crowd of grandchildren to dote on, hopefully. Though so far, only Spring and Valley have become family sims and Spring seems quite content with only two children.
But she will always have Ricky. And no one could have a better husband. When the house is quiet, Meadow often stops and comtemplates the portraits that son Field has painted of her and Ricky and wanders through her memories of their years together. They have had a wonderful life together.

Ricky has indeed been special. He has been an excellent husband and father. Despite being a romance sim, he has strayed only twice and very briefly. Much less than fortune sim, Chandler Platz. His relationships with all except his youngest children are above 90, and remain there even though the three oldest no longer live at home. And through the births of 6 children, Ricky never once spun up the fear of having a baby, nor even of changing a diaper. A phenomenal accomplishment for a romance sim.

at #3 Lineage Way, the home of the three oldest Cormier sons, last seen in chapter 22

The boys have adjusted well to having their own place. When Field is not in classes at the Heritage Academy of Art, he is usually found painting at home. His paintings are highly acclaimed by his professors and he has already sold several. Art is his passion and he pursues it. Though it is not his only love. He does leave enough time to spend with his sweetheart, Leda Enabler. And he recently went so far as to propose. Marriage will be deferred though until he graduates and has a paying job. Although if his paintings are selling well enough by then he might just work at home.

Forest is in the police academy and is considered one of the best cadets they have ever had. He leaves plenty of time for a social life though. He is a romance sim like his father, but unlike his father, he is not devoted to one woman. He pursues as many as he can. His latest love is Bethesda Jitmakusol, another romance sim like himself.

Marsh is 18 now and will soon graduate from high school. He plans to attend community college but hasnt' yet decided what career he will embark on. All three young men remain close to their parents and younger siblings and the younger kids visit often. Cliff especially likes to visit. He spends a lot of time with his older brothers, regaling them with stories of his latest triumphs or embarrassments at school, asking their advice, or just sitting and watching Field paint, if Field is the only one home and is busy. Field seems to have the most time and patience with young Cliff, perhaps because he is the least focused on his own social life.


at #1 Lineage Way, home of Robi (age 50, knowledge) and Mabal (age 55, knowledge) Charvat, last seen in chapter 23

(Robi's wife, Mabal, is cousin to Hawer Enabler, husband of former Genester Gen 2 heir, Genesis. Mabal is also sister to Chader Enabler, who lives with Hawer and Genesis.)

Life was tranquil and quiet for the Charvats with the whole family immersed in their pursuit of knowledge. Robi continued in his position as Mad Scientist with Mabal still high school band teacher. 17 year old Sager worked hard in school and at home on his skills, hoping that the proposed University would open before he became too old to go. He was a very serious young man.

Korena approached her teens with excitement. She was really looking forward to the fun of high school. Finally her big day arrived. The family wasn't much for parties so after a quiet family dinner she transitioned to only their applause.

Her parents hadn't thought to get her anything new for the occasion so all she had to wear were older sister Soressa's hand-me-downs. Well, they were okay clothes and had looked great with Soressa's dark beauty but Korena didn't think they did much for her. And that old fashioned hairstyle had to go. A makeover was definitely in order. Mom and Dad indulgently agreed to let her go shopping by herself, trusting her good sense. But reserving the right of veto on whatever she brought home. But the veto right was not needed. Korena didn't want anything that looked slutty like some of the girls wore. Nor did she want the punk or goth look. She just wanted an outfit that would attract everyone's attention and make her stand out from any crowd she was in. And she found the perfect outfit. A new layered haircut completed her new look.

On her first day at high school, Korena got all the attention she craved, quickly becoming the center of a growing crowd of friends. She wasn't particularly outgoing, but she was so nice that once people met her they couldn't resist liking her. She always knew the perfect thing to say to make someone else feel good. And she definitely proved the adage that to have a friend you must first be one. She was always willing to help her friends in any way she could (as long as it was ethical). And being as good a student as her older brother, she was frequently found helping less able students with difficult assignments. She quickly became a favorite with all her teachers also and they would often ask her to tutor other students. Great! A chance to make another friend! The only fly in Korena's ointment was the fact that her parents wouldn't let her have parties.

As Mad Scientist, Robi's work hours were short so he had a lot of time on his hands that he no longer needed just for study. After all, he already knew practically everything there was to know. An accomplished do-it-yourselfer, (he had done much of the work on their home himself) he spent some of his time in further home improvement projects. And he never called a repairman when something broke down. He could do a better job of fixing anything than any of the repairmen he had ever hired.

One day though he became just a little overconfident when fixing the trash compacter.

That was a sobering experience for him. And a terrifying one for his children. They made him promise to call a professional in the future. He tried to reason that a professional could be shocked also. But it wouldn't be THEIR father, they said. He finally agreed to their demands but that left him with even more time on his hands. So he decided to take up a new hobby. Stargazing. Every night after getting home from work, he would work at memorizing a different quadrant of the heavens.

It was a fascinating study and a real challenge for even his phenomenal memory. And so much beauty in the sky too. He especially loved it when the two moons were full. Even though all that moonlight cut down on visibility of the stars.



Will Ricky Cormier continue to be a model family man? How will Meadow cope when her children all leave the nest? Will Robi keep his promise not to do any more electrical repairing? How long will his love affair with astronomy last? And what future lies in store for the young of these two families? Stay tuned to All My SimChildren to find out.

Next episode: Gen 4 Comes of Age