the blessings

June 2042 - Phil Jitkamusal is 32, Tara Jitkamusal is 30, Anna and Kat are 3.

Usually Tara stays with the girls while he's at work, but on days when she has to be at the bakery early, he stays home with them. He's supposed to also be working, but taking care of the twins takes up the entire day.

Just a few years ago he was in graduate school - living alone, working and studying all day long. Now his days are full with his wife and daughters. He didn't expect to be a family man, but he can't imagine being happier.

Anna and Kat are almost four years old. They both have their mother's red hair. Anna loves to draw, and Kat spends hours seriously studying her logic game.

Phil loves spending time with his daughters, but he's not as good with them as their mother. Getting them down for a nap is quite a challenge.

Finally they fall asleep. He is supposed to read some papers, but he ends up taking a nap himself.

"How was your day? How are the girls?" Tara asks.

"They're fine. We had a good day together, but we missed you."

"You have something on your shirt. What is this, apple sauce?"

"That's what they had for lunch. The girls got more food on their faces than in their mouths. I guess they got some on me too."

The next day Tara stays home with the girls so Phil can go to work. He's a little nervous; he's working on a big project, and he hasn't gotten as far as he'd hoped.

But his supervisor is impressed with what he's done, and he gets promoted!

"Congratulations honey," Tara says. "I'm so proud of you."

He uses part of his bonus to buy a more powerful telescope. Their house is out in the country, and the sky is amazingly clear.

But his favorite way to look at the stars is to stargaze with Tara.

"Someday I'll teach the girls the constellations," he says.