I spent the evening with my family out in Plymouth Meeting tonight for round two of Thanksgiving dinner. I brought half a gallon of gravy and there were three kinds of sweet potatoes and no regular ones. The food was delicious, although it was a little chaotic getting everyone seated and settled at first. We toasted to Derek’s first Thanksgiving and spoke of the people we loved who were no longer living. David and Winnie brought three kinds of cake and Jean made two pumpkin pies that were perfect: flaky crust and deep, fragrant spiced pumpkin.

Over dessert I got teased into reading an essay from my thesis and thankfully the response was good. After the eating was over, Amy, Angie and David played “Name that Patient,” a conversation game that goes back their days growing up on the grounds of the Norristown State Hospital, in which the recount tales of the patients they knew from their childhood. Several hours later, it was getting late and my great Aunt Belle, now into her nineties and the last surviving member of her generation, needed a ride back into the city, so we headed out.

I took a bunch of pictures, but somehow managed to leave out half the people there. I guess that’s what happens when there’s a baby in the room.