Aging is Hard

The Day House

With the older kids gone, Dalila showered her attention on Paul. She bought him an early birthday present - the big dog he had seen a few days before at the pet store an fell in love with, Tarr.



Paul had been doing very well in school - he had gotten straight A's and was even on the Honor Roll! A few days passed and it was time for his birthday..Dalila had taken charge of the guest list herself. All of their friends and family arrived to help celebrate. He spent some time talking to his father as Aaron relived his teenage years in detailed stories.



Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Dalila quickly counted heads, everyone she had invited had shown up. She didn't know who was at the door. Paul jumped for the door and beat her there.



This stranger said his name was Perry and he had been a friend of his mother's about 14 years ago. He was a bit surprised too, because he thought all of Dalila's children were now in college. Paul told him that, no, in fact he was the baby of the bunch and tonight was his birthday. They sat down on the couch for awhile and got to know each other while watching ESPN.



Dalila stormed into the room and immediately ordered Perry to follow her to the den. A heated argument ensued...a few of the party stragglers got to ear an earful, enough to keep the local gossip chains happy. Dalila asked Perry why did he show up here tonight after all this time had passed, why tonight?? Perry had some questions of his own, like why he wasn't told he had a son? She told him he had no son here. Perry wasn't buying it and left saying he would be contacting a lawyer.



Poor Aaron has began to get a little confused in old age. He just sat on the couch, not really sure of what was going on.



After all the guests were gone and Aaron had gone to bed, Dalila tried to talk to Paul. It was evident he had been upset by Perry's arrival at the party. Paul, however, told his mom he knew the truth and he didn't know if he could forgive her. She tried to reassure him by telling him he was just imagining these things. Paul went on to tell her something shocking - he told her the moment he looked at Perry he thought he had looked in the mirror. He knew that was his father. He didn't want to talk to or look at his mother anymore. He just wanted to be alone!



Later that week, the Supermodel Bandit(as she has been called in Legacy Land) struck again!! She managed to get into the house, the dogs didn't stop her, when the alarm went off!



Finally the JHPD arrives!! It seems Barnie Fife was held up a bit because he couldn't figure out how to master the front door! This allowed her time to run.
Officer Barnie finally caught up with her, a fight ensued. She was later cuffed and taken downtown where she will be facing breaking and entering charges.




Paul decided to leave for college soon that next week. He left when his mom was at work so he didn't have to talk to her. With all the kids gone now, the house is pretty quiet. Dalila spends a lot of the day just looking out her window....thinking, dreaming of what life may have been like if she had made different choices.



The McGee House

When we last left Eden and Abel, they were still recovering from the shock of Anderson leaving High School to get married to Jessica Coleman and live on their own. Well..it seems Eden is still brewing over that whole ordeal!



Abel thought pet therapy might help things out at home. He bought Eden a bird that she named Rainbow. She quickly taught him to talk and walked around everywhere with that bird around. However, she did have a problem remembering to close the door to the gate. Rainbow spent a lot of time at night getting to "stretch his wings!"



One night, Eden's cousin Brandon came by, she thought this was a little odd. He politely asked if he could talk with Abel outside, something Eden thought was stranger. She went on to bed, Abel soon came upstairs. He said his conversation was about things going on with Brandon and Marlene, but he did not go into detail.



That night, they were both awakened suddenly by the sound of the front door alarm! Abel jumped up and called the police immediately.



Again, Officer Barnie Fife was on duty! This time he attacked the robber at the front door (he must have been practicing). He put up a fight, but was brought down without incident and was cuffed and taken to jail - alongside his partner in crime, the Supermodel Bandit. Thankfully nothing irreplaceable was taken.



Eden had spent time planning a Golden Anniversary party, and that weekend it finally took place with all of their extended family in attendance! The party started off with a toast by the happy couple.



Anderson provided the entertainment with his Grandpa Dale and Grandmother Marjorie (in the mascot uniform) in the background.



The men spent time talking about sports...surprise!



Eden and Dalila reminisced on growing up. They laughed until they were in tears at some of their childhood antics.



Jessica was the only one who spent her time at the party by herself. She sat on the couch for the most part, she still didn't feel accepted by Anderson's family.



The Miller House

The puppies, Cole and Chok, grew into adults and looked just like their pround papa. Marlene worked with training Cole a lot, she gave Chok away to a friend from work who wanted a dog of her own.

Marlene continued to work in show business, but she noticed she was beginning to get frequent headaches. She thought this was a little odd, as she never had them before. Brandon saw his wife's pain from the headaches and urged her to go to the doctor, each time she refused.

Brandon came home one day with a new puppy, hoping that may help things. Hoping it would keep Marlene's mind occupied. The new puppy was Sheba. Cole and Sheba took a liking to one another and soon there were puppies...Cotton and Cloudie!

Marlene's headaches worsened. Brandon noticed she was napping frequently during the day.

After confiding in Abel what he was watching his wife go through, Brandon confronted Marlene with his concerns. He begged and pleaded with her to go see her doctor. He even threatened to put her in the car and take her himself. Keeping true to her stubbornness, she flatly refused - saying she was just too stressed from work. Brandon loved her so much and was so worried...this was killing him from the inside.

After Brandon left her on the porch, she stood for a little while and thought about his words, about his concern. Then, the headaches came again - this time accompanied by some dizzyness. She didn't want to alarm Brandon anymore. She figured it would pass if she just laid down and got some sleep.

The Legacy House

Dale and Marjorie have led pretty hum-drum lives without anyone else in the house to keep them company. Marjorie spends a lot of time with her cats. They recently had their first litter of kittens. Dale was so excited, he took one of the kittens to work to show his friends at the office!

Of course, having the kids out of the house is beneficial for some purposes...

Marjorie is busy getting the house and the grounds prepared for Ferrell's return home and the upcoming wedding of Ferrell and Alisha.

Everyone recently gathered at the ground of the Whitmore Estate for an extended family reunion. Everyone laughed, ate, drank, and enjoyed family company.

Generation 4 - The Uni Years

When we last saw most of our Generation 4 kids, they had grown into young adults and enrolled in classes at Jackson Heights University - the same college attended by their parents and grandparents. Anderson, however, did not go to college. Instead, he and Jessica Coleman had left high school, gotten married, and moved into a house of their own. Paul, the baby of the generation, is still a child at home with his parents.

Life for the kids at college, was not all the fun and games they had hoped for. They all lived in the same dormatory on campus. Some started off on a good foot with high grades and impressing their professors, others learned that it took a lot of hard work in college. There were a lot of late night study sessions!



There were times when the kids cut loose and had fun. The twins entertained themselves by making fun of some of the Maxis-brand clothes worn by the other students on campus.



After a few semesters under their belts, Ferrall, the twins, and Deana decided to pledge the same Greek House that was founded by their grandparents. They were accepted!! The other four kids decided to join a couple of semesters later.




Their first night in the Greek House they threw a celebration party. It was just like the toga parties they had dreamed of having! Ginger DJ'ed and kept the party going late into the night. During that party, fate stepped in to Ferrell's life again. He was standing outside eating pizza and talking to some of his friends when he thought he saw a familiar face. He realized the girl walking by the house was Alisha Hancock, she had lived in Jackson Heights earlier and had worked as the local papergirl. Her family moved away during their Junior year of High School. He was so glad to see her again. He rushed to greet her with a big hug!



He had secretly had a crush on Alisha in high school, but she had moved away suddenly and after Ferrah's death, he wanted to escape. They quickly became an item on campus. He confided in her all of his feelings regarding the death of his sister...she listened patiently and held him when he cried.



Meanwhile, there were other romances blooming in the Legacy Greek House. Ginger had met Nicolas Dawson, a new student from sunny California and had fallen for his bright blonde hair and baby blues.



Grace started dating Matthew King, one of JSU's star baseball players. She told everyone she just liked the way he looked in that uniform!



Arden had been keeping close company with Henrietta Strickland, whom he met in one of his Junior year classes. He kept pretty tight-lipped about the details of their relationship.



Deana used a bit of an unorthodox manner to find a man for her. She saved up money and called up the local Gypsy matchmaker for a date. That is how she met Robin McCoy, a local from downtown. The others told her she was just wasting her money and the old woman was trying to scam her, but it turns out they were wrong. Deana and Robin ended up having a strong attraction for one another.



Broden has been dating an old high school friend, Lindsey Graham and Ardith met an interesting man downtown one night that she has fallen for, Rafael Doyle. (Sorry - didn't realize until I got ready to post - no pics of these couples.)

Time flew by and soon graduation time had arrived. Ladies and gentlemen, here they are in their caps and gowns...

(Arden turned out pretty good!!)

They had one final graduation blowout back at the Greek House after the ceremonies were completed. All of their families and friends from college attended. Their families were all so proud. Everyone at the party commented on how much Broden had grown to favor his father's looks.



Ferrell was the only one to have graduated Summa Cum Laude! He also had a special suprised planned for the party. In front of all of the family and their guests, Ferrell got down on bended knee and asked Alisha for her hand in marriage. She was so excited! She immediately accepted! Ferrell had talked to his parents afterward and they asked him if he wanted to move back in to the Whitmore Estates after graduation. They knew how much he missed his twin sister and they thought he would be the best one to inherit the house and grounds, including the family cemetary where Ferrah lay. The twins were in agreement, they each wanted a place of their own.



They have each moved back to Jackson Heights to start off life as adults now. Melisa is still finishing up her last semester in college, she fell a few credits behind the rest of her class. She is watching over the Greek House and keeping company with Eric Phillips, the headmaster from Jackson Heights Acadamy.