As Time Goes By
Jim adored our son as he adored Lizzy. When he apologized to Lizzy for missing her third birthday, all she said was that he had given her the best birthday present ever: fighting for everyone's safety.
Daniel Orion Hawkins had more of my coloring: my brown eyes and my light brown hair. He also had my nose and ears. As different as the descriptions between the siblings may sound, they looked alike in their expressions. Whatever mood they were in was displayed on their faces, and although one may not see a distinct similarity, it was there.
Danny grew to be a sweet little boy much like his father was (according to Sarah's stories of Jim as a young child). He was quite a fast learner like Lizzy. He was walking and talking in the blink of an eye. Where had the time gone? He loved the Legend of Captain Flint's Trove and had dreams of finding it one day. My goodness. They were their father's kids no doubt.
Meanwhile, I introduced navigation to our daughter. She loved it and vowed to become like me someday. That made my heart overflow with pride. She caught on very quickly.
About five years after Danny was born, Lizzy had just turned eight, and I took her with me on a voyage for a practice run at navigating. Danny stayed with Jim of course. When Lizzy and I returned, we found that the men of the house had really bonded. Danny looked up to Jim more than anything. He loved me, I knew, but fathers and sons have special relationships you cannot sever. Jim was no Leland; that was for sure. He spent so much time with Danny and Lizzy and was there for them when he came home every night from Crescentia. As a relatively new captain in that turbulent time with the Procyons, he had to keep up to date with what was happening with our enemies.
Captain Amelia also went there frequently. Dr. Doppler went there for astronomical studies. He took Dexter to show him the ropes of the field. Dexter wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. Grace, Diane, and Margaret all had different ambitions. Grace wanted to work as an artisan to sell crafts at Crecsentia, Diane wanted to become a captain like her mother, and Margaret wanted to be an architect. Amelia was quite flustered by these different wishes but of course, liked Diane's aspiration most of all.
Sarah and Momma spent a lot of time with Lizzy and Danny when we visited them for some conversation. B.E.N. (who was living at the Benbow Inn to help Sarah), Morph, and the kids became the best of friends. I still watched over B.E.N.'s shoulder all the time to make sure there were no unnecessary accidents.
Lizzy and Danny went to elementary school in Benbow. Lizzy had the top grades in the class throughout all her years. As Danny progressed to each grade, we noticed that his grades were slipping. When he was nine (Lizzy was twelve) and all of our efforts to help him failed, we got him a tutor. He hated it even though the frog-like woman was quite sweet to him. When the tutor spoke to us later about his failure to progress, she asked us if he had any motivation. We answered that he had said he wanted to do better and tried, but just couldn't do it. Each year, he moved up to the next grade--at the bottom of the class. I was satisfied if it was the best he could do, but when I saw the look on his face when he came home from school everyday, I knew he wanted to do better and was probably capable. Danny's eyebrows grew heavy, hiding his eyes in a shadow like his father's used to. Jim and I finally got him to tell us his true motivation when he was twelve: he was jealous of Liz. Our fifteen-year-old daughter had been succeeding every year getting straight-A's. She informed Danny that it didn't come naturally. It was all from hard work, good study habits, and perseverance. He would storm out of the room every time she told him this. Jim and I felt for our son. We planned on sending both him and Liz to the Academy, but I was worried he wouldn't make it. I knew he wanted to as well. We would love him the same no matter what. Would he love himself though?
Liz was supportive the whole way. I could tell she would make a great mother one day. From the time Danny was five and she was eight, she put a wing around her brother, trying to protect him and help him in any way she could. She loved him immensely from the time he was born and was crushed when he was upset or depressed. We reminded her that it wasn't her fault that he was struggling, and she shouldn't put the burden on her shoulders.
"I know," she said once, "but I love him so much, and I want to see him happy."
Jim adored our son as he adored Lizzy. When he apologized to Lizzy for missing her third birthday, all she said was that he had given her the best birthday present ever: fighting for everyone's safety.
Daniel Orion Hawkins had more of my coloring: my brown eyes and my light brown hair. He also had my nose and ears. As different as the descriptions between the siblings may sound, they looked alike in their expressions. Whatever mood they were in was displayed on their faces, and although one may not see a distinct similarity, it was there.
Danny grew to be a sweet little boy much like his father was (according to Sarah's stories of Jim as a young child). He was quite a fast learner like Lizzy. He was walking and talking in the blink of an eye. Where had the time gone? He loved the Legend of Captain Flint's Trove and had dreams of finding it one day. My goodness. They were their father's kids no doubt.
Meanwhile, I introduced navigation to our daughter. She loved it and vowed to become like me someday. That made my heart overflow with pride. She caught on very quickly.
About five years after Danny was born, Lizzy had just turned eight, and I took her with me on a voyage for a practice run at navigating. Danny stayed with Jim of course. When Lizzy and I returned, we found that the men of the house had really bonded. Danny looked up to Jim more than anything. He loved me, I knew, but fathers and sons have special relationships you cannot sever. Jim was no Leland; that was for sure. He spent so much time with Danny and Lizzy and was there for them when he came home every night from Crescentia. As a relatively new captain in that turbulent time with the Procyons, he had to keep up to date with what was happening with our enemies.
Captain Amelia also went there frequently. Dr. Doppler went there for astronomical studies. He took Dexter to show him the ropes of the field. Dexter wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. Grace, Diane, and Margaret all had different ambitions. Grace wanted to work as an artisan to sell crafts at Crecsentia, Diane wanted to become a captain like her mother, and Margaret wanted to be an architect. Amelia was quite flustered by these different wishes but of course, liked Diane's aspiration most of all.
Sarah and Momma spent a lot of time with Lizzy and Danny when we visited them for some conversation. B.E.N. (who was living at the Benbow Inn to help Sarah), Morph, and the kids became the best of friends. I still watched over B.E.N.'s shoulder all the time to make sure there were no unnecessary accidents.
Lizzy and Danny went to elementary school in Benbow. Lizzy had the top grades in the class throughout all her years. As Danny progressed to each grade, we noticed that his grades were slipping. When he was nine (Lizzy was twelve) and all of our efforts to help him failed, we got him a tutor. He hated it even though the frog-like woman was quite sweet to him. When the tutor spoke to us later about his failure to progress, she asked us if he had any motivation. We answered that he had said he wanted to do better and tried, but just couldn't do it. Each year, he moved up to the next grade--at the bottom of the class. I was satisfied if it was the best he could do, but when I saw the look on his face when he came home from school everyday, I knew he wanted to do better and was probably capable. Danny's eyebrows grew heavy, hiding his eyes in a shadow like his father's used to. Jim and I finally got him to tell us his true motivation when he was twelve: he was jealous of Liz. Our fifteen-year-old daughter had been succeeding every year getting straight-A's. She informed Danny that it didn't come naturally. It was all from hard work, good study habits, and perseverance. He would storm out of the room every time she told him this. Jim and I felt for our son. We planned on sending both him and Liz to the Academy, but I was worried he wouldn't make it. I knew he wanted to as well. We would love him the same no matter what. Would he love himself though?
Liz was supportive the whole way. I could tell she would make a great mother one day. From the time Danny was five and she was eight, she put a wing around her brother, trying to protect him and help him in any way she could. She loved him immensely from the time he was born and was crushed when he was upset or depressed. We reminded her that it wasn't her fault that he was struggling, and she shouldn't put the burden on her shoulders.
"I know," she said once, "but I love him so much, and I want to see him happy."