T w e n t y S i d e d

Last week, Jimbo, the youngest son of the Smith family, redid the entire house. He outfitted the place with cutting-edge designs like animal print carpets and wood panel walls. His reasoning was that it would ultimately up the property value, and give his mom an excellent place to spend her advancing years. Obviously, from his work, he ended up blinded by what turned out to be a vanity project along the way. His sister ended up taking up the housework he was supposed to do, and his mother ended up resenting his help more than appreciating it. It’s tricky, disliking something that someone is doing to help you. On the one hand, they’re putting in time and resources, on the other, she didn’t ask for it.

Jumping forward another 20 years, we’re in 1990. Mrs. Smith is gone. She was moved into hospice care in her nineties and expected not to last a month. Jimbo was left housesitting while Mom was in the home, and all the kids visited frequently knowing they didn’t have long with her. Much to their, and the nurses’ surprise, she lived another five years. She got to meet her first great-grandbaby, spite a doctor she really hated, and see New Coke fail before she died. She went happy, and a little glad she didn’t have to go in her newfangled decorated house.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Sims 4 Overthinking: Legal Issues”

Bay Jubilee Oldest child of Shamus Young. They/Them

This week we skip another 20 years forward. In 1970, the year we’ve lept to, Mr. Smith has passed away and Mrs. Smith is in her 80’s. The house is too big for her, but she is vehemently against being put in a home, so her son has moved in to help manage the place. Let’s decide that the Smiths had three children. Their oldest, a son, has gone into the family business, he’s too busy to help out. Their middle child, a daughter, has children and a family of her own. The youngest Smith boy will be helping Mrs. Smith in her old age. He works under the oldest son at the family company and is very keen to prove he can do something his siblings can’t. He is easily in his 50s, but he’s got no family of his own and never strayed far from home. He isn’t a bad guy, he just lacks direction.  We’ll call him Jimbo to avoid any more ‘Mr. Smith” nonsense.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Sims 4 Overthinking: The 70s”

Bay Jubilee Oldest child of Shamus Young. They/Them

Mr. and Mrs. Smith began their marriage in 1912. By 1915 they had a custom-built house, courtesy of Mrs. Smith’s father. They were allowed to make whatever decisions they liked, even bad ones, to make their dream home a reality. In my mind, I think Mrs. Smith’s father had a building company, which Mr. Smith was working at and intended to take over once her father retired.

This means that Mr. Smith would have lied through his teeth to his father-in-law. Imagine, for a moment, that the two men are speaking about the house plans. Mr. Smith mentions that they want that awful go-nowhere balcony, for the visuals of it. The father-in-law is a builder by trade and knows this is a horrible idea. But, the moment his eyebrow is raised and he is expressing that he is skeptical of the plan, Mr. Smith is shaking his head and laughing, insisting it’s all his idiot wife’s idea and he’s just going along with what she wants. It’s 1913, both of them laugh at the folly of vain women, and the stupid balcony is built. Mr. Smith was who wanted the balcony, he liked the idea of climbing up there to hang Christmas lights. Mrs. Smith hated the balcony because she was worried he’d break his neck up there.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Sims 4 Overthinking: Function Over Fashion”

Bay Jubilee Oldest child of Shamus Young. They/Them