Gen 3 Chapter 14: World Renowned Surgeon?

The days after Ken's death were solemn, but we all kept ourselves busy, and when we needed to, we cried and let some of the emotions out.

I got along ok, but I most certainly felt uncomfortable sleeping in our old bedroom. If I stayed out of that room, I did ok when I was home. But when I walked in that room, it was all I could do to keep myself together. I couldn't fall apart all of the time. My kids needed me. 

I was lucky enough to get a promotion that next day at work. Normally, I would have been on top of the world, and ready to celebrate, but Ken's death overshadowed that. 

I was glad to have the promotion, especially after all the hard work I had put in, don't get me wrong. I just hoped I could hold on to my promotion being the emotional wreck that I was.

My kids suggested I go have a day at the spa and relax a little. They knew all too well all the extra work I was putting in before Ken passed, and they were concerned about how well I'd handle the stress of it all. I took them up on it. A spa day might just be exactly what I need.

When I was finished, I felt like a new person! The pain of Ken's absence was still there, but I didn't realize how tired my old body was getting from it all. I felt truly relaxed! Harmony happened to be outside when I was through, and we had a long talk about my family, and Ken's passing. It was very helpful to talk to her. 

"You know, Symphony, if you'd like, you and I could switch shifts tomorrow, and you can go teach a medical seminar for me at the theater, and I'll handle your rounds at the hospital. It might be a little easier on you."

"Oh, that would be great actually! It would be nice to get out of the hospital and have a change of scenery. I'd love to!"

The kids were back to school the day after their Dad's death, and although it was difficult for them, they did a good job of carrying on while mourning Ken. They worked on their homework, and Kenny even invited a girl home from school to study with. All of the kids seemed to band together and really help each other when I wasn't there, and I was so grateful for that.

Mikinna was very close to graduating now, and she really needed to pull up her grades before then. I tried to help her in the mornings before work. I know life had been tough lately, so I didn't try to nag her about it, just offer a lot of help and support.

The next day I had to go to the theater to teach that medical seminar for Harmony. It was the best idea ever for me to give up my stressful, busy rounds at the hospital for the day and teach the seminar. I enjoyed it a lot, and met some really great people.

The weekend was upon us, and the kids were really enjoying their free time. Mikinna had taken up the guitar, Logan decided to leave it behind when he moved, and said he'd come back for it later, but he knew how much Mikinna wanted one and I think he was trying to make up for leaving so abruptly after Ken's passing. 

After making sure the kids were ok without me, I headed to the library to do some studying and research for work. I was working hard to find a cure to a disease that had been plaguing the city lately. I knew if I could figure this out, I'd get that promotion for sure. 

I was going to need a little help with  my next promotion, because that goose chase I went on to try to track down the medical supply shipments ended with no luck retrieving them. The files I found at city hall didn't help. At least they were nice enough to compensate me for the extra time I had put in chasing all the info down.

Kenny had chose to spend the weekend working on his inventing, so he went down to the local scrap yard to pick some scrap up for his workbench at home. It seems, that he found a little more than just scrap!

"Ahh!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!"

"Oh, that's ok, I just didn't see you there."

"I haven't seen you around town before, are you new here?"

"Yes, we just moved in this weekend."

"Oh, well my name is Kenny. Nice to meet you."

"Carol. Nice to meet you too."

"So, are you an inventor too?"

"Well, I thought I might give it a try. My Gammy wanted me to find a hobby to keep me busy after school."

"Gammy?"

"Gammy is my foster grandmother. Well, my foster "mom" to be technical, but all of us consider her more of a grandmother."

"Ah, I see, that's cool. So, you'll be starting school here then on Monday?"

"Yes. Me and my foster sister and 2 foster brothers. I'm a little nervous about starting a new school."

"Sure, I can understand that. It's not too bad. Even entertaining at times. Just remember, if you can get the Government teacher all riled up about current events, he'll forget all about his lecture and go on and on, and forget to assign homework!"

"Haha, that's great information! I'll remember that!"

Kenny stayed at the junkyard until his curfew chatting with Carol. He promised me that they were barely even friends and that there was nothing romantic going on there, but I don't know, I'll guess we'll just have to wait and see.

We also had a nice, lazy Sunday before we were all back to the old grind. I spent my time chatting with Grace, and Mikinna painted while Kenny worked at his workbench all day. 

Kenny decided since I wasn't using my room anymore to go ahead and make that his new room, and he used his old room only for working on his inventions, which meant that pretty much the whole 3rd floor was Kenny's now. I was perfectly fine with that, and he of course loved it.

My disease research paid off, as when I brought it to work the next day to show everyone, they all marveled that I managed to find a cure! I was immediately given a promotion! I was now a Neurosurgeon! Only one more step away from my dream! Maybe I would make it to see that day after all!

That evening was Mikinna's birthday! She was becoming a woman tonight! I couldn't believe my little girl was now an adult. 

Happy Birthday Mikinna!

She Loved spending time Outdoors now, and very rarely was home. Although her favorite was being out in the fresh air, she liked visiting the clubs too. She did gain a little bit of weight when she aged up, and I was concerned with how that was affecting her interactions with members of the opposite sex.

She seemed to be on some kind of Conquest to be a Master Romancer or something. All she could talk about was finding a guy, flirting with guys, etc. She was really worrying me. I was really worried she was trying to somehow boost her self-esteem. She hadn't even wanted to look for a job. I hoped that maybe she would come around and at least want to work eventually.

Our life was starting to get back to normal. I think we had all come to grips with Ken's death, and were all going on with life. Grace and Kenny's grades were improving drastically as they had both decided to make homework a priority. I was very proud of them. 

Mikinna was still sleeping all day and staying out all night, but she didn't seem to be getting into too much trouble, so I guess she was ok. After all, she was an adult now, and this was her life.

Then, it finally happened. I had been running some files over to the mausoleum, and when I got back to the hospital, the whole staff surprised me with a big party!

I was pleased, but I didn't have a clue what it was for. I finally pulled the new girl aside, and said, so, why are we having a party in my honor? And she said, "Um, I'm pretty sure we're celebrating your promotion to World Renowned Surgeon."

OH MY PLUMBOB!!!! I FINALLY DID IT! I WAS A WORLD RENOWNED SURGEON! My lifetime wish was complete! My co-workers asked me if I planned on retiring now, and I told them 'no way!' I had worked too long, too hard, and sacrificed a lot to be where I am today, I was going to stick around and enjoy it as long as I could. It was time for me to go home and celebrate with those who mattered to me the most. My kids!

*buckey's notes*- Holy cow, we made it! Whew!! Symphony has finally completed her LTW, and she's just a day shy of 90, I believe! This ends Generation 3, next up, Generation Kenny! Both of Symph's last promotions she pretty much earned each in one day. I was so relieved that she kept getting work opportunities, because I got her the "Opportunistic" Lifetime Reward, and for every one she completed, she'd get more than the normal reward. Carol and her "foster siblings" are Sims I threw into town, along with some others, hoping that Kenny and maybe even Grace would have some good choices for significant others, and to my surprise, Carol was at the junkyard when Kenny went! They totally got to meet by happenstance, and they got to chat as Kenny had a wish to become friends with someone. So far, no wishes concerning her, but I'm hoping they will become better friends at school. We shall see! Thanks for reading everyone, and sticking with me! Generation 4 will be coming soon!