little lessons

November 2041 - Peter Ottomas is 59, Samantha Ottomas is 58, Orlando and Sharla Bertoni are 36, Sheila and Tommy Ottomas are 31, Donna Bertoni is 12, Katie is 7, Sean is 4, Veronica Bertoni is 3.

This is the first year Tommy and Sheila are having Thanksgiving dinner at their house instead of going to Tommy's parents' house. Tommy and Sheila get up at dawn to clean the house and start preparing dinner.

"Katie, can you please play with your brother?" Sheila asks. "I'll be right in the kitchen if you two need anything."

"Okay Mommy."

"Come on Sweets, stay out of the kitchen. Mommy is working hard."

Peter and Samantha arrive first, then Tommy's sister Sharla and her family.

Sharla and her family live next door to Tommy and his family, so they spend a lot of time together and their kids play together pretty often. Donna likes playing ball with her cousin.

"You have a nice arm," Peter tells his granddaughter.

Peter and Orlando spend most of the afternoon watching football in the living room.

Sometimes the kids join, but mostly they just run around the house and play. Donna likes telling scary stories to her little cousin.

Veronica likes having lots of people to play with.

She also likes playing with the cats, although they don't seem as thrilled to have her chasing after them.

"Do you need any help with dinner dear?" Samantha asks Sheila.

"No, I think everything is ready to go. But thank you for keeping an eye on Sean."

They don't have enough room at the dining room table for everyone, so Donna and Katie eat in the living room.

"Great job honey," Tommy says. "Everything tastes great."

"Yes, everything is wonderful," says Samantha. "Thank you so much for having us over this year."

Thanksgiving with the Ottomas/Bertoni clan always goes late, but that isn't a problem this year. When the toddlers start whining about being tired, Sharla and Orlando just have to walk next door.

"This was a great idea," Sharla says. "Let's have dinner here next year."