Day 81

It is often difficult to accept how frequently plans go terribly awry whenever barbarians are involved.  For the past few days, the eldest barbarian has had a project he is desperate to undertake. Circumstances haven't allowed me the chance to trade for the clay that he insists is necessary for the project. I was finally able to trade for the clay last night, but I refused to allow him to undertake the project immediately upon my arrival with the clay. This caused an extreme outburst, but I was able to calm him with the promise that we would begin the project after he returned from the Halls of Learning today.

Of course the Fates had other plans. My partner and I went to a Farewell Ritual with the littlest barbarian this morning. We stayed longer than we intended, but my partner was surrounded by people he sees only infrequently and I will not begrudge him those moments. The littlest barbarian enjoyed the latter half of the Ritual as it included food and fellowship with other little barbarians.

I had a list of chores around the settlement as long as my arm, perhaps longer. It almost goes without saying that I didn't accomplish all of them. I was in the middle of cleaning up the hut with the cooking fire and the logs we eat around it on. This hut is where the eldest barbarian had decided he was going to do his project. Since there was more than a little mess in that hut, I was unable to do as promised, which led to an epic meltdown.

I eventually dispatched my partner to take the elder barbarians out to the garden to do the project out of doors. Thank all the Gods for the arrival of Spring. I feared the season would never show its beautiful face this year. I was able to bring enough order to the Cooking Hut to serve our meals there for the next little while, but there is a long way to go before my Spring Cleaning and rearranging is complete.

Looking ahead, I only have a few short weeks to complete my sprucing up of our settlement. Soon we will be having the littlest barbarian's first Birthing Day Ritual. It is a great accomplishment that she has lived a year and that we have survived her addition to our settlement. It has not always been an easy transition, but it has definitely proved worth it.

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