Back in the Valley

Well, as most of you know from my recent FB post, we are back in Sunset Valley.  And I hope that it's permanent. 

However, one member of the family didn't return to the Valley with us. 

My oldest biological daughter, Sage, elected to remain in Hidden Springs - a place she fell in love with in her teens. 

She and her boyfriend, Kyle Heilman, bought this cottage in the woods out there. 
They're into gardening and conservation and have this 'save the environment' mentality. 
They're both bohemians - they have fine arts degrees, they do hunger strikes and protests on the environment. 

I have to admit, I didn't like the choice she made.  But it's hers and I have to live with it.  After all, she is grown now and can make her own decisions.

However, this is not just a courtesy visit.  We're here because we've received some grave news.

My father, Nathan James Jolina-Plumb, has gone to be with the Reaper.  He lived to a ripe old age of 112 simdays.

In some respects, he's gone back where he belonged in the first place. 

There's a story that as a very young man, well before Bassy and I even existed, he impressed the Reaper in an impromptu guitar performance. 
The existence of this story explains a lot.   It explains my dad. 

There's a part of me that still can't believe he's gone.  He's lorded over this family for so long, and his larger-than-life presence will be sorely missed.

My dad wouldn't want us to be sad over his death.  He'd want us to be happy and go on with life.

But before he died, there was something he did, that wasn't in the papers, but cut to the essence of who he is.

He gave Skylar his guitar.

The family heirloom guitar that belonged to my grandmother, Jamie Jolina. 

That he'd choose to give Skylar the guitar and not my older children is a testament to something he knows.

She's going to carry on the family business. 

It's an exceptional burden for a young girl, but she appears to be handling it.

And she's not the only one who appears to be headed for a career in the family business.  My niece, Kady, Sebastian's daughter, has also been accepted into Le Fromage Art School and is headed for a career in the business.  I've been told that she is taking voice lessons under a renowned instructor.  

There is a misconception that our family business is just music, although music is a HUGE part of it, it's not the whole of it.  There are as many successful writers in the Plumb family as there are musicians, myself included.  There is Aunt Maggie, who wrote mostly science fiction.

And now I'm told that Sage is working on her first book.   She has not discussed with me any details, and is definitely keeping things under wraps for the time being.  

 As for the other little girl, well, Sierra has been surprisingly glib about her desire and intention to write. 

I can't see either of them making careers as full-time novelists as I am, but I could see them doing it as side pursuits.