2.4: Home

I can’t believe it.

We finally have a home. A real home! Not a crappy little two-room shack like we started with. And not some cramped little house where we all share one bathroom either. Sharing a bathroom with three girls is, well… Not something I recommend. Trust me.

Anyway, that’s not something I have to worry about anymore. Because our new home is huge compared to what we had before. It’s bright, and open, and… Well, beautiful.

Of course, it was so amazing to spend the whole summer back in Newcrest with my folks. I haven’t spent that much time with them  in years! And it was great to sit down and talk with Evelyn too.Like I said, I love sharing people’s stories… And her story — my grandfather’s story — is incredible. I think I’m almost done with my first draft, actually. I’m gonna have to sell the thing as fiction, but… Everyone who matters will know the truth.

Anyway, being back with my family was really wonderful, y’know? And it was kinda hard to leave, to be honest. But exciting too, because I knew exactly what I’d be coming home to. And I couldn’t wait.

We have so much more room that we used to… And just in time too, since there are five of us now.

Gabriela’s already almost three months old, and she’s absolutely amazing. I mean, if I’m being completely honest, I was really kinda rooting for a boy this time around… But I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. And that’s fine with me. I love my girls more than anything, and my little Gabriela’s no exception.

She’s always smiling, almost never cries (unless she’s hungry, of course), and she’s cute as a button too, just like her sisters were.

And speaking of sisters… they seem to be adjusting to the new baby pretty well. Or better than I expected, at least.

Mari still seems a little unsure, I guess. Some days, she’s “oohing” and “ahhing” over her little sister, and seems really eager to play with her or help take care of her. Other days, it’s like she wants nothing to do with her.

And Lina, well, she’s definitely excited to be a big sister. But sometimes, I think maybe a little too excited. She’s always hovering around the nursery, and begging to hold her, or help feed her… Which is great some days, but, well, a little irritating other days.

As for Jade and I, we’re totally over-the-moon, of course. She’s really thrilled to be a mother again, I can tell. And I love seeing her like that.

But she’s been pretty stressed lately too. Mostly from work. Not that I’d really know firsthand, but it’s gotta be hard going back from maternity leave… and especially with the huge business proposal she’s been working on the past couple of weeks. She spends so many hours yelling on the phone every night… It would almost be funny, if it wasn’t upsetting her so much.

Thankfully, I know one or two, uh… ‘stress-relieving techniques’, if you know what I mean… It can be hard to find some alone time when you’ve got a ten-year-old, an eight-year-old, and a newborn to take care of, but we make it work. And I think Jade’s been appreciating my efforts…

It took a Hell of a long time, but I finally feel like things are exactly how they’re meant to be. In a few weeks, it’ll be fifteen years since I first started writing in this journal – fifteen years since I left home and came all the way to Windenburg. Fifteen years since I started trying to figure out what to do with my life.

Well now I can finally say I have everything I could have ever dreamed of – an amazing wife, three perfect children, a fulfilling career, and a beautiful home.

I know I’ve said it before – that I couldn’t be happier. But this time… I really mean it. I have everything I’ve always wanted, and I honestly can’t imagine how things could get any better from here.