Journal, Day 98

Our Sunday started off with its usual, meandering pace. The benefactor took the younger children to procure the week’s necessities, and they arrived back to the homestead with sacks of items to be organized. Per usual, the elder children watched them bring in the goods, and with blank stares, merely sat in self-absorbed stupors. Finally, the elder male snapped from his reverie to assist with the task of putting items away.
 
After helping to empty a single sack, the elder male decided he was famished, and attempted to make himself a bowl of hot oats. Reading the cooking instructions, he saw 2/3 cups as a direction of 2-3 cups, and grossly overestimated the amount of liquid required. Thankfully the benefactor caught his egregious error, and saved him from steaming oat soup.
 
Whilst the benefactor was busy preparing the evening repast, the younger male took it upon himself to create an excavation site in the backyard, creating a shallow grave where he searched in vain for dinosaur bones that would never be there. The younger female chimed in unsolicited, informing the benefactor that they planned to bury her head in the hole when she died later in life, which clearly struck an anxious cord in the benefactor. The youngest male became heated when asked to refill his handy work in the morning so that no one would fall in the yard and potentially be severely injured, or worse, face potential decapitation.
 
Meanwhile, the other children were tasked with tidying their personal living spaces, particularly the female den. After a short time, music erupted and heavy footfalls could be heard shaking the ceiling. Sighing, the benefactor prepared to explore what chaos had sprung forth when three children ran into the kitchen for an impromptu dance celebration, quickly departing as fast as they entered. They moved on to disrupt the younger male, who had zero interest in partaking in the festivities and made it explicitly clear to his siblings, being required to apologize for his harsh tone.
 
In the evening, the benefactor made a unilateral decision that dessert would not be an option, after an onslaught of bickering and arguing amongst all those under the age of 18. This was met with great disappointment and eye rolling. The younger children were shuffled off to prepare for bed. After readying for sleep, the youngest female found shut eye immediately. The elder male and benefactor undertook reading a volume of Shakespeare, presented with images created by molded brick characters. Much to her surprise, the elder male maintained wakefulness and paid rapt attention.
 
Today, the younger children and benefactor returned home to discover lights left on, and a variety of household chores incomplete. When the elder children came home, they defended their inability to fold freshly dried towels, amongst other things. The benefactor was highly peeved, and made it very explicit what the expectations were in exchange for their ability to live a mildly carefree existence without having to provide exclusively for themselves. Clearly struck with a death wish, the elder male puffed his chest and opted to sully himself in an argument he had no hope of winning. In the end, the benefactor chose to allow him to exist, for which he showed his gratitude by completing many of the remaining chores without being nagged. Perhaps he is teachable after all.