Powell/Temple/Fletcher Thanksgiving Recap

As per family tradition, my family and I gathered in Annapolis to celebrate Thanksgiving at my Aunt Dawn's and Uncle Dean's house--which is, literally, next door to Grandma and Grandpa Powell's house.



As you can see, there are a lot of us...



Here are Grandma and Grandpa, with 4 of their 6 kids: (L-R) my Uncle Lloyd, my Uncle Dean, my Momma, and my Aunt Martha. Not pictured are my late Uncle Harlan, and my Uncle Ralph, who is currently serving on a military base in Germany.



My cousin Ruth (and her infant son Derek) and I spent some quality post-meal time with Grandpa after the table had emptied. Eventually when it was just Grandpa and me, he told me, between his usual stories, that he was proud of me and that I should continue being creative and using my gifts. As I hugged Grandpa goodnight before leaving, he left me with his usual parting words: "you're a good man, Charlie Brown." I liked that.



This is my mom's mom. She went to Cornell, raised 6 children, became a foster-mother for drug-addicted/high-risk infants after her own kids were grown, and she still does jazzercise 3 times a week. She is a superhero.



This is my youngest brother Al. He'll soon (in the next few days) be deploying from Fort Bragg to Sadr City, Iraq on his first tour of duty with the 101st Airborne. I love him and am incredibly proud of the man he is becoming.



And here's the whole clan: Al, Dad, me, Mom, and Bill.