Mood Swings

May 2033 - Del Sol Valley, California

Lloyd family: Jason is 45, Lilly is 45, Jacob is 12, Mia is 12

Lilly doesn't remember being in a constant mood swing when she became a preteen, but here they are, now stuck in this constant change of moods since Mia turned twelve just a couple months ago.

All Lilly asked this morning is for Mia to go back to the kitchen before her bus arrives and wash the cereal bowls. It's Mia's turn for kitchen duties after all.

But they have to take it one day at a time to get through this part of Mia's growth into being a teen, right?

"Hey," Lilly says, trying to sound as cheerful as she can, "I'll help you out this morning, and then you can take care of tonight's dishes. Deal?"

All Mia does is grunt in response, so Lilly isn't sure but she takes it as a yes.

Jacob is the opposite of his sister. He doesn't try to argue with anyone (except with Mia, just because she tries to argue with him) and he's just fine doing his chores even if he's not thrilled about them.

His new hobby is creating candles and so he convinced his mom and dad to get him a candlemaking station, which he keeps in his room.

It's not always a fun way to spend his nights after school. His hands are really starting to show the wounds from this hobby.

***

Brindleton Bay, Connecticut
Norman family: Jessica is 48, Richard is 42, Grace is 13, Tyler is 13

The last days of their school year come at the end of May and already Grace is bored. They'll be turning fourteen this summer and starting at Brindleton Bay High School in September and she's so excited about that next move up in her life that she already kind of wants this summer to be over. Is that crazy or what?

And there's the fact that there just isn't much to do around Brindleton Bay. It's a quiet town, not too far from the rush and excitement of San Myshuno, but most of the time it feels like an entirely different planet. Even the movies at the local theater are kind of boring.

"Stop sighing and groaning," Tyler whispers to his twin. "I'm trying to hear the movie."

 

But Jessica and Richard have a summer surprise for the family. A concert comes to a city nearby and they surprise the twins by heading that way one afternoon.

Grace and Tyler love Joy Oladokun and are beyond excited when they find out where they're headed. It's also their first real concert. They've been to see their dad perform at small concerts, but this is a real one. This one really impresses and excites them more than any others they've been to. Not that they'll tell their dad that.

It's one of the best days of summer so far.

Jessica gives Richard a good luck kiss as she always goes before he goes onstage. He's performing a small bit as the concert winds down and he's nervous about what people might think.

His kids do their part and watch their dad perform, though really they talk to each other about Joy Oladokun's performance and how exciting that was to see.

But Richard is focused on being onstage and doesn't notice when his kids walk off to check out the tables selling memorabilia. This is what he's meant to do and he loves every moment of it.

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I wasn't sure if I was going to bother working the Sims Sessions concert into the story, but I decided to go ahead with it. In my story this part of the concert was held near Brindleton Bay rather than in Magnolia Blossom Park, which the area it is in is considered to be in North Carolina in my story. 

I wasn't even sure if I was going to play with that concert because at that time my game was on Monday and the concert wasn't until Sunday so I had to rush to get through the week because I didn't have a lot of play time. I really did not like that and still don't. Maxis should have let us have the concert in our game whenever we wanted. And why couldn't we keep the stage for future concerts by our own Sims?

And I feel so old because I have no idea who those three performers are, LOL! Oh well, at least my Sims did have fun. The Norman family saw Joy Oladokun perform, and then my current group of university students saw Bebe Rexha and Dave Bayley. Maybe I'll include their time at the concert in a future update, but I haven't decided yet. Not a total complaint about the Sims Sessions, but mostly I just want the stage back for our own play and to be able to set up our own time for the concerts.