#ershad-newbury family

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A Tale of Three Holiday Cards

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From Zahid's Simstagram account (@.zahid.codes.stuff):

Meet the newest graduate of UBrite Copperdale! I'm so proud of Ayla for following her dreams. She'll be starting as a third grade teacher, in the classroom where she did her student teaching!

@.kelly.moreno: You're going to do amazing!!! I am so glad that the kids will have you next semester!!! @.taylorgrace: <3 <3 <3 @.st.petronella.official: Welcome to the family, Ayla! Go Cardinals! @.tradcathdad: This is a disgrace. What is a non-Catholic doing teaching at a Catholic school???? I hope the new pastor will address this!

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Ayla: You're a little cutie pie, aren't you, Leo! I can't believe he'll have his first birthday soon!

Taylor: Oh, stop! I get emotional just thinking about it!

Ayla: You know, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have another little one. But with me going back to school this fall, it's just not -- sorry, I know you might not want to hear this.

Taylor: What do you mean?

Ayla: I, uh, saw your video about natural family planning and birth control. I thought it might be awkward for you to have a good friend who's...

Taylor: Oh, that! Honestly, I don’t really believe all that stuff. That was a sponsored video, so I had to go by what they asked for. The main reason I got off the pill in college is actually because my doctors thought it might interact with my heart medications.

Ayla: What about Justin? He seems like he was definitely on board. Either that or he’s a way better actor than I thought he was.

Taylor: Justin’s really into the details of the theology. I know he has strong feelings, so I try to respect that, but honestly, most of the Catholic women I know use birth control. It’s way more common than most non-Catholics think.

Ayla: Really?

Taylor: Yeah. And our priest doesn't talk about it in the pulpit, of course, but I know people who have gone to him in private and he's said it's okay. You can't argue with what a priest says!

(A/N: Justin can very much argue with what his priest says.)

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December 31, 11:30 am. — The Santoro House

Justin: Where does your daughter go to school?

Zahid: Well, our zoned school in Copperdale is Buckingham Elementary. We've been really happy with--

Justin: Here in San Sequoia, the public schools are nothing but hotbeds of woke ideology. That's why we send our kids to St. Petronella's. It's has a lot more peace and love and a lot less theology than we'd like, but better than the alternative. I'd sell this shirt off my back before I'd let my kids set foot in a San Sequoia public school.

Ayla (to herself): Oh my.

Zahid: ...yeah. Choosing the right school is, um, really challenging sometimes. Anyway, Ayla tells me you like to fish. Any good fishing spots around here?

Meanwhile, upstairs:

Poppy: Hi! My name's Poppy.

Gia: Yeah, I know who you are. Simone Nichols goes to our church. She and I are, like, besties.

Poppy: W-what? Simone is my best friend. We even traded these bracelets, see?

Gia (scoffing): You still trade those things? Only babies do that.

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From the personal website of Taylor Santoro (taylorgrace.com):

Sul sul! Welcome back to another installment in my Thursday Evenings series! Today we’ll be spending the evening with my friend Ayla Newbury.

Ayla lives in Copperdale with her husband Zahid and their two daughters, 11-year-old Poppy and 4-year-old Emily. She is a freelance artist who has recently gone back to college to study arts education.

Ayla’s Thursday evenings begin at the local rec center, picking up Poppy from swim practice. She and Emily enjoyed the playground while they waited for her to finish. “Emily has tons of energy, and burning some off before dinner goes a long way in making bedtime go smoothly.” I think a lot of us mamas can relate!

Ayla and the girls arrived home around the same time as Zahid, who works as an IT project manager. Poppy and Emily had such a sweet welcome for him! From there, it was on to the kitchen so dinner could happen before it got too late.

“Zahid loves to cook and is really good at it,” says Ayla. “On Thursdays, when we're all home on the late side and need something fast, he does a much better job than I ever could.” This evening, Zahid whipped up a quick stir fry while Ayla helped Poppy with her homework.

How did Zahid prepare this delicious meal, you may ask? With his Schmapple appliances! Just a reminder that Schmapple makes it easy to get a healthy dinner on the table for your family, and you can use code TAYLOR at their website to get 5% off. Hurry -- that deal will be ending soon!

After dinner, the kitchen transformed into Ayla’s study zone. “I try to get the bulk of my studying done while the girls are at school, but when I have an exam or paper, it bleeds into the evenings.” Meanwhile, Zahid took charge of Emily, enjoying some playtime before getting her to bed.

Once Emily was asleep, Zahid and Poppy settled down to watch the Game of Llamas season premiere. “We try to limit TV, but Poppy was just dying to watch this. And I don’t think Zahid exactly minded either.” Game of Llamas is something my husband and I don’t allow in our own home, but everybody has different standards!

I left Ayla’s house around 10 pm to get back to my own family. Ayla was still buried in her paper, so Zahid was the one to putting Poppy to bed.

I asked for Ayla’s thoughts on these photos before sharing them here. “I was worried that going back to school would cut into my time with the girls. It definitely does some nights—I especially miss doing bedtime—but I’m also happy to see how present Zahid is for them when I can't be there. He’s a fantastic dad.”

@.inkspirations: Beautiful photos! Thanks for spending the evening with us! :)

@.Kelly.Moreno: Your girls are precious, Ayla! Looking forward to meeting you and sharing a little about teaching!!!

@.tradcathdad: This woman is a disgrace, neglecting her husband and children to pursue a worthless degree at a woke institution. Cannot believe that you’re promoting this.

@.taylorgrace: @.tradcathdad, I’ve blocked your comment above. We all have different standards and we are all striving for holiness in our own ways!!

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Poppy: I don't get it. Why does everybody in the comments on this video think that Gia is right? She's just saying stupid stuff like she always does.

Ayla: Well, have you ever heard of an echo chamber?

Poppy: Like that place in Mt. Komorebi where you shout and your voice comes back to you? We learned about that in geography.

Ayla: A little bit. When they go online, people tend to look only at stuff they know they'll agree with. When you do that, all you ever hear is your own ideas — your own voice — bouncing right back to you. You never get exposed to new ideas. That effect is called an echo chamber.

Poppy: So people look for Mr. Santoro’s videos because they agree with him and Gia?

Ayla: Most if the time, yes. Plus, websites like Sims.tv are designed to keep showing you more and more of the things you’ve watched and liked with, which just keeps you inside your echo chamber. Your dad could tell you a lot more about how it works.

Ayla: So...what do you think about all this, Pops?

Poppy: Honestly? I think Dad should help me fix my Sims.tv account. I don't want to keep seeing stupid stuff like this just because I saw that one video.

Ayla: Fair enough, kiddo. I'm sure he will.

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From Zahid's Simstagram (@.zahid.codes.stuff)

Preschool, sixth grade, college! My three favorite girls are all going back to school today!

From Taylor's Simstagram (@.taylorgrace):

What a blessing it is to have my kids at a wonderful Catholic school for another year (and to have Zelie joining in!). Gia is excited to start learning Latin this year, and Ambrose will be preparing for his First Communion. Praying for all students and teachers today!

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From Taylor's Simstagram account (@.taylorgrace):

On Saturday afternoon we went to a wonderful end-of-summer barbecue hosted by our friends the Ershad-Newburys! It was such a blessing to spend time with old friends and meet a few new ones!

[A/N: You'll notice some conspicuous absences from these happy group photos.]

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Saturday, 3:57 pm

Gia: Hey, Poppy.

Poppy: ...Hi.

Gia: Where'd you get that shirt? Unlimited Three?

Poppy: It has an Unlimited Three tag, but my mom and I found it at ThriftTea. Where'd you get your outfit? A dumpster?

Gia: No, this is designer! My mom got it as a gift from one of her sponsors. Besides, I would never wear anything from Unlimited Three. Daddy says their clothes are --

Poppy: I don't care about your stupid dad! All he ever does is say rude stuff online—that’s what my dad says, anyway! And I don’t want to hear about your stupid church, either!

Gia: You know what? I’m glad we don’t go to the same school. Daddy says public schools don’t provide a quality education, and since you can’t come up with a better word than “stupid,” I guess he’s right! Anyway, I’m going off to find some more intellectual company.

Zahid: Want to talk a little about how you handled that, kiddo?

Poppy: She was insulting me! My clothes, how dumb I am…

Zahid: Number one, you’re not dumb. Number two, yes, she was being pretty rotten. But you know what?

Zahid: People like Gia and her dad want to make people angry. And the way you came out swinging, you played right into her hand.

Poppy: But what am I supposed to do? You don't want me to just sit there and let her bully me, do you?

Zahid: Absolutely not. Next time, you call for me as fast as you can, and I’ll back you up. And one thing to work on as you get older is being as boring as possible. Just say things like “mmhmm” or “that’s a weird thing to say.” If you don't give people like Gia what they want, they'll stop sooner or later. It’s worked pretty well for me.

15 minutes later...

Justin: Our family doesn't eat meat on Fridays, you know.

Zahid: That's nice. Today is Saturday, though.

Justin: ...Are you cooking those hot dogs the Simerican way?

Zahid: That's a weird thing to say. I'm Simerican and this is how I cook hot dogs.

Justin: ...I guess I'll go get a beer. If you have some, anyway.

Zahid: Cooler's right over there. Help yourself.

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Late summer, Saturday, 2:12 pm

Poppy: Mom, does Gia have to come to the barbecue today?

Ayla: Well, of course. We invited the whole Santoro family, and we can't leave out just Gia.

Poppy: But she's so mean! All she ever does is tell me that she's better than me because of her religion! I can't believe you're going to make me hang out with her!

Ayla: We've been over this, Poppy. You don't have to be her friend, or even say anything to her besides "hello." But in this house, we treat everyone with basic politeness, and that includes Gia Santoro. Now scoot. Go set the patio table for me, will you?

Poppy: Why can't Emily do it? She never does anything around here.

Ayla: Poppy. Basic politeness, remember? And besides, Emily is four -- she can barely even reach the tabletop!

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From Poppy’s diary:

I still miss my grandma a lot. Having her around was like having a friend who knew everything but never thought I was silly or stupid for not knowing.

Of course I tell Simone everything. But even though she’s really smart—she skipped a grade at school—there’s stuff she doesn’t know either. Like how do you know when a boy likes you, or how do you tell your mom you don’t like the clothes she buys you and you want more grown-up ones. Or what do you do when you really hate somebody but your mom says you can’t be mean to them.

That’s my problem with Gia. It’s a good thing she doesn’t come to our house much because she’s always at violin lessons or church group. And Max is usually at soccer. But Miss Taylor comes by a lot with Zelie and Ambrose and Leo. Leo is cute, and Miss Taylor lets me play with him. He cries a lot though. Even more than Emily used to.

Emily and Zelie will play together for hours and hours, especially with the dollhouse. Mom says she wishes she could see the little worlds they’re making in their imaginations, so then she could paint pictures of them. I think that’s weird, but I guess it makes her happy.

And Ambrose is pretty cool, even though he’s younger than me. He reads a lot, maybe even more than me! I gave him one of my old Peter Barker books. Mom said not to because Emily might want it when she’s older, but I don’t care. If she wants to read it someday she can get it from the library.

So I guess most of the Santoros are okay. But I don’t think I’ll ever forgive Gia for what she said about Grandma, and I hope she stays far away.

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Zahid: See anything good up there tonight?

Poppy: I dunno.

Zahid: Why don't you come sit with me, and we'll see what we can find together.

Poppy: Dad?

Zahid: Yeah?

Poppy: What do you think happens when we die?

Zahid: Well…I don’t know for sure. I don’t think I there’s a way that anybody can know until they actually die.

Zahid (voiceover): But here’s what I hope is true. I hope your grandma is somewhere very happy and very peaceful, and that she's with your grandpa again.

Poppy: That’s kind of like what Simone says about heaven. And her priest says God will let anybody go there, even if they don’t follow the right religion. I think I like her God a lot better than whichever one Gia believes in.

Zahid: You know what, kiddo? I think I do too.

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Obituary of Patricia Newbury

Patricia Newbury passed away peacefully in her sleep on Sunday afternoon. She was 79 years old.

Patricia worked for many years in the marketing department at Rainy Day Entertainment, eventually becoming the first woman to sit on the company's executive board. She met her husband, Maurice, while studying part-time for her MBA at the Foxbury Institute. The two of them shared almost 40 happy years together, enjoying books, fine cuisine, and traveling.

After retiring from her corporate job, Patricia taught business classes at Foxbury's Copperdale extension campus. She was also the leader of Golden Years, a social club for elder sims. The role she most enjoyed, though, was being a grandma.

Patricia was preceded in death by her husband, Maurice. She is survived by her daughter, Ayla; son-in-law, Zahid; and two granddaughters, Poppy and Emily. A private graveside service will be held on Tuesday morning. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Women in Business program at the Foxbury Institute.

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Janae: Ayla? This is Janae Price, your mom's next-door neighbor. I went to check on her because I noticed she didn't let her cats out at the time she usually does, and, well...

Zahid: Baby? Babe, please tell me what's wrong. Is it something with the girls or—

Ayla: ...My mom...she's—she’s gone.

Zahid: I am so, so sorry, baby.

Ayla: It doesn't even feel real right now. How am I ever going to tell the girls?

Zahid: Try not to worry too much about that. I've got you. I promise.

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Poppy was not happy when she arrived home from school to find that Emily had destroyed her carefully-constructed dollhouse. Zahid fixed it, but it will never be quite the same in her eyes.

Mom and Dad are full of excuses for Emily -- "She's little and doesn't understand! She probably just thought she was playing!" But Poppy isn't buying them. She's seen the way her sister grins before she smashes something.