Usual apologies concerning grammar and spelling. Also usual disclaimers concerning non ownership of anything to do with Star Trek.
Notes
Nel-dath - Routine
Tel-tor - bond
Chapter 70 - Nel-dath
Mimi moved into Sordd's apartment at the Embassy as soon as they came back from their honeymoon and the family very quickly fell into a routine, it was hard not to due to the constraints of Sordd's commitments at the Embassy and the structured way that Vulcans brought up their children. Fortunately for Mimi she liked structure and routine, although occasionally she did enjoy mixing things up a bit, much to Sordd's bemusement.
Sordd continued his role as a healer at the Vulcan Embassy, as well as working on research as part of his commitments to the Interspecies Medical Exchange. Avarak and T'Shahel continued with their studies, and general adventures as young Vulcans. Mimi continued her work as a teacher in a local high school, she loved her job but found it exhausting and by the end of the week she wasn't really fit for anything. When this was drawn to Sordd's attention he had insisted that she moved down to part time (who would argue with that?), so now she worked Wednesday and Thursday, all day, and Friday mornings.
As they would be relocating to Vulcan in six months time, Mimi had already handed in her notice, and spent some of her spare time looking for a suitable position on Vulcan. The rest of her spare time was spent sorting her flat, which she had kept on, partly on Amanda's advice and partly because although Sordd's family apartment was spacious there was not enough room for all of her possessions. She had decided to take her time to sort things through and see what she really needed in her new married life and also to see what she wanted to take with her to Vulcan.
One of the main things that Mimi had been working on since meeting Sordd was shielding her emotions from those around her. She was a fast learner and she very quickly found ways to make sure that her emotions were not leaking all over the Vulcan Embassy, much to the relief of the Vulcan members of staff. There was still the occasional slip but all things considered Mimi was making excellent progress in this discipline. Sordd was inwardly pleased as it bode well for when they would relocate to Vulcan, where there were those who would be less tolerant, illogical as that was.
Sordd on his part was working on expressing his emotions, but only ever to Mimi. This had come about as a result of reading a research paper, which highlighted that emotional connection was a bond that held partners together in a human relationship, and without a strong emotional connection the relationship could drift apart. Sordd knew this would not happen due to the tel-tor that he had with Mimi, however, he recognised that it was logical for him to express his 'feelings' to Mimi, more for her sake than his. He had noticed that lack of knowing how he 'felt' about particular situations seemed to stress her out so he endeavoured to accommodate her wherever he could. As Mimi was human she sometimes required his emotional input on a subject in order for her to come to a decision on a particular matter. On Sordd's part, his decision making was based solely on logic. If he became aware of any emotion that was swaying his decision making process, he would take time to meditate upon it until he had so detached himself from said emotion that it no longer affected him or his decision making. On occasion these differences between Mimi and Sordd brought about conflict between them, her decisions usually being based on emotion and his decisions always being based on logic. They somehow managed to work through these differences so there was harmony and peace in the home.
Over the months since being married Mimi discovered that Vulcan adults do not need as much sleep as humans. Mimi who liked her sleep and the occasional duvet day, tended to go to bed at 10pm and wake at 6am. In contrast Sordd would have no more than three hours sleep a night, the rest of the time he would spend in deep mediation. Mimi found this hard to get used to, and was initially concerned that he was unable to sleep due to her presence disturbing him in some way. Sordd reassured her that it was necessary for a Vulcan to meditate and it had become his habit from a very young age. In many respects meditation was more important to a follower of Surak's teachings than sleeping, a deep meditative state could be as restful as a deep sleep! Mimi was not entirely convinced but eventually she just accepted that this was the way things needed to be.
On the rare occasion that Mimi could not sleep, and that was very rare, Sordd would endeavour to teach her some meditation techniques. She could just about cope with the technique involving building blocks, the similarity to lego helped, regarding the techniques involving mathematics, well lets just say she found them challenging. When the meditative techniques failed to give the desired outcome Sordd would invariably end up giving her some Vulcan neuro pressure and she would fall fast asleep within seconds. Sordd could not determine whether Mimi's difficulties with meditation techniques were deliberate or not, he sensed that Mimi found the neuro pressure much more agreeable than meditation!
The sleeping pattern for Vulcan adults did not apply to their children. Mimi discovered that Vulcan children need more sleep than human children for their age and stage. Sordd explained to Mimi that this was logical as Vulcan children grow and develop at a faster rate than human children and this requires a lot of energy, hence why they sleep for longer. Therefore it was usual for Avarak to be in his bed by 7pm at night and T'Shahel would be in bed for 8pm. In the morning T'Shahel would wake up for mediation at 5.30am and Avarak would be awake for meditation at 6.30am. Mimi noted that when the children stuck to this routine, obviously the adults in the situation making sure that it was possible, the children's emotional control was much more stable and within 'normal parameters' as Sordd would put it.
Depending on their schedules the family usually had first meal, or breakfast as we would call it, together in the apartment. Mid meal, or lunch, tended to be eaten in the Embassy cafeteria, although they did not necessarily sit down together at the same time. When at work Mimi would take a working lunch in her classroom and very occasionally Mimi and Sordd would have lunch together at a local tea or coffee house. The whole family ate end-meal, or dinner, together, as per Vulcan custom. This would take place in either Sordd's apartment, the Embassy cafeteria, Mimi's apartment, or very occasionally they would eat out.
More often than not evenings and weekends were spent as a family doing various activities together such as cooking, baking, playing musical instruments, crafting, horse riding, swimming, and other sport activities. Naturally there came to be a blending of Human and Vulcan culture, and everyone learned from each other, it was IDIC in motion. As part of this cultural exchange Sordd had began to teach Mimi the Vulcan martial art called kali-k'hy on a Monday evening. As with Terran martial arts Vulcan martial arts afforded many benefits including; improved cardiovascular health, improved muscle tone, weight loss, faster reflexes, improved mobility and agility, improved strength and power, improved stability and co-ordination, improved flexibility, and improved mental health. The sessions started with warm ups, which Mimi was used to due to her sporty lifestyle, and then Sordd went onto skills training and physical conditioning. Over the weeks that she had been learning kali-k'hy, Sordd had broken down the various techniques into simple moves which were practiced over and over agin, until Mimi was quite proficient in moving from one stance into another. Kali-k'hy was not only about self defence and combat practices, but it was also about discipline, patience, improved self-knowledge, and the ability to care for ones body.
It is at this point we will continue their story...
