Thanksgiving: On Reflection

This year, for the first time in a while, I did not spend Thanksgiving with my family. At least two Thanksgivings during my college years were spent with the folks I fondly call my adoptive family: the Stovers of Florida. So it's probably been about six years or so since I last ate a Thanksgiving dinner with people I wouldn't necessarily call family. The Thanksgiving of my sophomore year of college eludes me. The timeline is elastic. Anyway, lots of meals were shared with family. This one, last week, was not.

A few weeks ago, I started a new job in a new town, and as many of you probably know, I don't have my driver's license. (Cue comments from the peanut gallery. Okay, now that that's out of the way . . .) Since I don't drive and I only had Thursday off from work, I couldn't go home for the holiday. (Note to self: 4.5 hours is not that far to drive. Next year, when you have your license, you will leave after work on Wednesday and go home for dinner with your family on Thursday.)

Fortunately, the lovely music director at my new church home was kind enough to invite me to spend Thanksgiving with her family: the Hicks from West Virginia. (No, seriously.) While the meal was delicious and the company more than enjoyable, it wasn't my family. My rowdy, loving family really knows how to have a holiday so there were more than a few things that I missed. However, with new friends come new memories and, on this occasion at least, much laughter.

So, here are some of the things I missed:

*My family, of course. We're close-knit and all up in each other's business. This year, nobody asked me  if I have a boyfriend yet. (Okay, maybe I didn't really miss that last part.)

*My mom's sweet potato casserole. Not the kind with marshmallows. This stuff is all brown sugar and butter and pecan topping, which is really the reason we all love it so much. (My Uncle Matt only eats the topping.)

*Exchanging names for Christmas gifts. Mom picked a name for me. (Shh! It's a secret! But with only five of us grown kids in the exchange, it won't take long for the secret to get out, I'm sure. Jena and Melanie are tops at guessing anyway.)

*Washing dishes with Janelle.

*Seeing how big Landyn and Nola are getting.

*Sitting around for hours after our two o'clock dinner and talking until it's time to eat again. Saying, "I guess we'd better be getting home" and then sitting around and talking for another hour. Or two.

And here's what made my non-family Thanksgiving memorably delightful:

*Not being alone on a holiday.

*Talking to my family while they passed the phone around in turn.

*Trying to teach Amelia to knit using two plastic spoons.

It's possible! (Not altogether advisable.)

*Meeting the extended Hicks family and feeling right at home, especially when, during the BINGO! game, Chris said something about the ball turner being broken: "Mine's broken. Mine is broken!" I replied, "Mine are broken!" and Chris and her sister Karen both caught my Pretty Woman reference. Or maybe I joined theirs. Well, we were all on the same page.

*Playing BINGO! with all of the kids.

Pinto beans make excellent BINGO! chips.

*The chaos associated with lots of little ones.

*Laughing heartily while spending time with sisters Jessica and Cassidy, their mom Chris and dad Jack, and a whole host of fond family, now called friends.

A holiday feels so much more festive with family, and even though they aren't my family, the Hicks from West Virginia sure made me feel like one of their own.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Career Girl

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

I've never really thought of myself as a career girl, but it seems I have become one. I always expected Prince Charming was waiting just round the corner, and one day, I'd come round that corner, we'd bump noses, and "TA-DA!" happily ever after. So far, that hasn't happened. (I haven't ruled it out.)

Anyway, these steps have not led where I thought they would. From proofreading to working with an orchestra to, now, working with a professional theatre (in a non-performance capacity), my professional life has taken me to unexpected places. Outside of work, too, some pretty incredible experiences have filled my days. This year has been especially notable. Wonderful though those adventures have been, I still find myself at time plagued by a thought that this is not what my life is supposed to look like.

That's crazy, right? I mean, if I were supposed to be doing something else or being somewhere else, I would be doing that or being there. Logically, that makes sense. So why do I wonder? Why do I feel incomplete because my life doesn't look like hers or hers or hers? Why do I even want my life to look like any one of theirs when my own is so incredibly blessed?

So I'm a career girl. For now. For now, my life consists more of organizing data in Excel spreadsheets and other databases than building a life with my husband and our family. My free time is spent dancing with friends or reading for fun or joining the choir at my new church because, for now, I have free time, and for that, I am grateful. I am a career girl, and that means I can learn to be a good steward of my resources now so that when I do have a husband and a herd of little ones, I will know how to be a good steward of our resources then. Or maybe I'll live a long life knowing how to manage my own business.

In any case, I'm a career girl now, and with that, I shall be content.

(Really, though, where's that corner?)

Chapter the Next

Two days ago, I moved to Lewisburg, WV, to start a new job with the Greenbrier Valley Theatre. Prior to this big move, life became pretty exciting:

At Oglebay Institute's Towngate Theatre, I was privileged to appear as "Curley's Wife" in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Directed by Tim Thompson and starring some of the most talented actors I've ever had the privilege to meet, this production marked my debut in grown-up theatre! Also, audience members have touted it as one of the best shows they've seen at Towngate. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to tackle this challenging role and to work with so many spectacular actors: Justin Swoyer, Mack Kale, John E. Reilly, Wayne McCourt, James Martin, Shawn Carder, Walt Warren, P.D. Gregg, Lewis Willming, and, of course, Daisy.

I went dancing in Gainesville for the first time in years and got to reunite with some pretty awesome friends and meet a bunch of new ones.

With Jenny, Craig & Weston at the Gainesville Lindy Exchange. October 2012.

While I was in Gainesville, I got to have a photo shoot with photographer friend Raul E. Fernandez S. He took a bunch of wonderful photos, and we had a grand time. Here are a couple of my favorites:

After going to Gainesville, I joined my parents and grandparents for a relaxing week at Myrtle Beach and our family return to Angelo's.

Upon returning to Wheeling, I started rehearsals for the Augusta Levy Learning Center's Dancing with the Ohio Valley Stars, Season Two. My partner, Charlie Schlegel, owns and runs local restaurant Ye Olde Alpha. We had a lot of fun learning our short routine to Peggy Lee's recording of "Big Spender" from the musical Sweet Charity. Here's a short clip of our dance (Thanks to Tracey Marra for the video!):

Even though we didn't place, we were pleased as punch to be part of a fundraiser for such a worthy cause and grateful to meet so many other talented dancers and local celebrities. Plus, we did win best costumes! Thanks to Stages for their generosity in dressing me and for their inspiration and to Charlie for all of his hard work!

Dancing with the Ohio Valley Stars 2012.

In addition to all of the activities, I also enjoyed sharing meals with friends and family. I miss you all and look forward to dining with you again in the future. :)

Now, I'm getting settled in Lewisburg and my temporary housing and looking forward to starting my new job tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who helped make this transition smooth and brought such great joy to my last couple of weeks in Wheeling!

LaKnitShack or Embracing the Entrepreneurial Spirit

A couple of days ago, I opened my own shop! It's called La Knit Shack, which, in case you didn't already figure it out, is a play on my last name - Labishak. You can find it on Etsy.com at http://www.etsy.com/shop/LaKnitShack and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LaKnitShack.

Back in middle school, when my brother and I spent our afternoons at our babysitter's house, we both learned to crochet. In college, I met other gals who liked yarncraft and rediscovered my own love of working with yarn. I even taught myself to knit. Since then, I've made gifts and dabbled in sales, but now, for the first time ever, I'm tossing my hat in the ring of business and making a go of it.

Today, I sold this beautiful baby blanket:

Right now, I'm working on another one in a multi-hued yarn, and available in the shop now are these lovely flowered earwarmers:

Check back for new inventory and follow LaKnitShack on Facebook and Etsy to keep up with what's new in the store!

Burn Books! (Or Vote to Save the Library)

Libraries nationwide continue to face tremendous budget cuts. In tough economic times, I suppose it's easier to slash a line item that seems superfluous than another that is agreed to be essential. I've always loved the library. It seems to me that a place that provides free access to information should be kept around so that even if people can't afford to buy the book or the newspaper or the magazine, they won't miss the opportunity to read it. Plus, libraries often lend movies, music, audiobooks, and language-learning resources; provide Internet access; and have resources to help with research beyond the Internet. Best of all, they do all of these things (and more) for free!

Supporters of the library in Troy, Michigan, took a unique approach to saving their library when the local branch of the TEA Party urged voters to deny a 0.7% tax increase that would support funding for the library. Check out this video that documents their guerilla efforts:



That's one way to save a library!

Friday Happy: William Mauvais & Maeva Truntzer Showcase ILHC 2012

I've never been to the International Lindy Hop Championships, but this video makes me want to go. Also, I may have to name my future daughter Maeva for no other reason than it's a lovely name. (Do I need a reason other than that?)

Happy Friday!

Room: A Review

"Utterly gripping"

"heart-stopping"

"riveting"

These are just a few of the words reviewers have used in describing Emma Donoghue's 2010 novel Room.

(Mild spoiler alert from here on out.)

Five-year-old Jack's and his Ma's lives are confined to the eleven-foot-square room where Jack was born. To protect him, Ma has raised Jack to believe that "Room" is all there is, that everything in the TV is pretend, that they are the whole world--except for Old Nick, who visits in the night. Narrating, Jack tells how they live, how they exercise, what they eat, what they read, how he learns. Ma has created as full a life as she can for him with what limited resources she has, but she is growing restless and desperate and knows that not even her creativity can survive the situation much longer, though her ingenuity, along with Jack's bravery, does save them from it. The second half of the novel, outside "Room," recounts Ma's adjustment to what life can now be--and what it must be as a result of what she has endured, Jack's first regular interaction with anyone but Ma and his experience of a wider world he has only just learned exists, and Ma's continued fierce protection of her son even as she struggles to reconcile the person she has become with the person she once was.

--

I stumbled upon Room in the bookstore and picked it up because of its simple but eye-catching cover:

Room sat on my bookshelf for months until this week when I picked it up and found I couldn't tear myself away, even during rehearsals for the play. (I sat backstage in the sawdust and hay from the set and read until my entrances.) [Note: The copy I have includes an intriguing interview with the author. If you read the book, definitely check out the interview as well.]

Donoghue's elegant, five-year-old prose captured my heart and broke it in one fell swoop: Jack has no idea that there is a world beyond "Room." His way of seeing his world heightens the contrast between the two halves of the book--the first half of confinement and the second half of freedom that seems, to Jack, incredibly suffocating.

The Ma that Jack portrays also has two strikingly different halves. In "Room," she must be all things to Jack. She is mother and teacher and protector. All mothers are these things (ideally, I suppose), but she has no one to help her, no "village," so to speak. She also has no one to be any of these things to her. Jack doesn't understand that Ma is a daughter, too. Jack doesn't even realize Ma has a name besides "Ma." Outside, as Ma tries to maintain her relationship with Jack while simultaneously re-learning how also to be everything else she once was, she shatters. Donoghue does not manipulate the character into a paragon of virtue, all things perfect, all things managed. Ma is real and flawed and, thus, all the more affecting.

Donoghue challenges the media's tendency to sensationalize stories like these. During an interview with Ma, a television host tries to idealize the experience into an exercise in simple living, assumes she understands what Ma must have thought on finding she was pregnant, directs Ma toward the narrative the show wants to tell rather than the truth. Ma won't play the game. She refuses to make herself the untainted heroine but neither will she let them make her into more of a victim.

Most of the sordid details of Ma's ordeal are lost on Jack and absent from the narrative, which might make this novel more accessible to the squeamish and the highly sensitive, but the story is far from simple and happy. It haunts the brain and sends the reader on a dark trip from one prison to a kind of other and finally, hopefully, to freedom.