Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Not that my family celebrates a lot of holidays, but it's still my favorite by far. I think I appreciate the spirit of the holiday, the family time together, the way everyone sort of unwinds and is just happy to have the day with each other. We don't do other projects during the holiday, we just try to spend as much time together on that day together, doing things everyone wants to do, working to make each other happy.
This Thanksgiving was especially dear to me because I was away from the family core last year (ie my parents), and I'm fairly certain I will be away again this next year. Last year was a fabulous alternative, since I got to have a different family thanksgiving with my brother's family and my sister. But Thanksgiving is not only MY favorite holiday, it's also my Mom's favorite holiday. And the ability to spend it with her, is a blessing. Next year I hope to be in Maine, and I have no idea if there is enough of a break for me to afford the flight home for the holiday. I will be entirely on my own next year, and though I am sure I will find friends, church family, etc, it will still not be the same without my mother. And the rest of the family too.
It's not that we do anything special. Much of the late morning was spent in Wii bowling tournaments (I mean, that's still rather novel to my family, video gaming systems and all), after that we did a lot of cooking. This was the first time in three years I got to A. help cook, and B. could eat everything. My mother worked hard to make it an entirely gluten-free meal, and that was really meaningful to me, since it was the first time in three years I had had a full Thanksgiving meal. None of the food is anything incredibly gourmet, lots of traditional favorites; turkey, dressing, my mom's potatoes, you get the idea: not a lot of adventurousness. But that is what makes it so special. We don't make a dressing except once a year, and it's an incredible recipe, so we savour it when we have it. I don't mean the food isn't incredibly tasty by saying it's not gourmet or adventurous, I just mean, we're fairly run of the mill on the menu choices.
Much of our afternoon and evening after we ate our early dinner feast was spent again playing Wii (need to work off those calories) and then wonderful board games, wrapped up by movie watching (Clue!). It's not the activities, the games, or the movie choices that make it special though, it's one full day of everyone checking their stress at the kitchen door, enjoying great foods together, working together (we figured out that every single dish in the kitchen was a collaboration of some sort), and just being silly. More threats to spew drinks because of raucous laughter happen on this day than on any other day of the year. Me? I like watching them, I enjoy the sense of love that hangs in the air. Sometimes the idea that stress isn't necessary for a few short days while we play, laugh and enjoy each other even lasts as long as the leftovers. Sometimes it doesn't last as long as the leftovers, but we're a real family, with all the failures and mistakes that go along with it. Maybe that sounds cheesy, but I really don't mean it that way.
This year, above all else, I'm thankful for my family. I'm thankful to be home, to have a home, to have emotional shelter from the rest of the big, bad, ugly world, to know I always have a place, emotional if not physical, to return to. I'm so incredibly blessed I'm ready to tear up right now, and I'm not a crier.
God said he would never leave us alone, and yes, I know that He meant He was sending the Holy Spirit, but I think God works through means, and I see family as one of his incredible means of communicating His love for us.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Halfway
Halfway through the week that has consumed my personal life. I'm talking about the week that started Monday and will end this coming Tuesday. I finished the Master Class this afternoon (ps, Alessio Bax is so cool), and can now concentrate on the Solo Artist Competition. I'm really excited, and just ready for it to be over. :)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Remembering...
I have a really bad habit of getting caught up in everyday life. Letting the little things get to me. The little frustrations. Okay, in the moment, they're big frustrations. A friend reminded me of this verse the other day:
"Restore to me the joy of your salvation,and uphold me with a willing spirit."Psalm 51:12 ESV
Who am I to forget that the center of my world should rightly be God? His salvation is the only thing that truly matters.
"Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God of my salvation"
Psalm 18:46, ASV
I've really been struggling though this last two months. The recital, work, homework, class schedule, emotional turmoil, all of it has really been waying me down. And now I have this solo artist competition on Saturday. I have really been losing sight of my true focus in life. And the piano work wasn't going so smoothly. In late September I was given a 19 page Bach concerto to memorize for the competition. Up until last night, I was still unsure whether or not I would have everything ready and secure.
Then last night in the middle of practice, I remembered...
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
- Phillipians 4:13 NKJV
God is my strength. My strength is not my own.
And right there I prayed. I spent 15 minutes just sitting in my practice room praying quietly.
And the music?
Beautiful. I saw that concerto in a new light last night. Up until last night it was the technically difficult, slightly flashy little piece that fit my personality that was good for the competition.
But last night I saw God in my music. I saw the long way my memorization skills have come in the last two months, how my patience (against my will) has developed, and I experienced a joy that few understand. The joy that comes from a truly beautiful piece of music, and the ability to share it with yourself, and to share yourself through your music with God. I thank God so deeply, for the gift he's given to me, and for giving me a gift that is so easily shared with others. I don't know where my gifts will take me in life, I don't know how much longer my hands will work, but I hope that while they do still work, I remember to thank God for them every day.
No matter the outcome of my competition on Saturday, whether I win the spot with LSO or not, I feel I've won. I've had a great challenge, and have met it, not through my own strength, but by learning to depend more fully on God. It seems it's a lesson God has to teach me over and over again. I can only hope someday it gets through my thick head.
"I will sing of Your mercy
That leads me through valleys of sorrow
To rivers of joy"
-The Valley Song, Jars of Clay
"Restore to me the joy of your salvation,and uphold me with a willing spirit."Psalm 51:12 ESV
Who am I to forget that the center of my world should rightly be God? His salvation is the only thing that truly matters.
"Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God of my salvation"
Psalm 18:46, ASV
I've really been struggling though this last two months. The recital, work, homework, class schedule, emotional turmoil, all of it has really been waying me down. And now I have this solo artist competition on Saturday. I have really been losing sight of my true focus in life. And the piano work wasn't going so smoothly. In late September I was given a 19 page Bach concerto to memorize for the competition. Up until last night, I was still unsure whether or not I would have everything ready and secure.
Then last night in the middle of practice, I remembered...
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
- Phillipians 4:13 NKJV
God is my strength. My strength is not my own.
And right there I prayed. I spent 15 minutes just sitting in my practice room praying quietly.
And the music?
Beautiful. I saw that concerto in a new light last night. Up until last night it was the technically difficult, slightly flashy little piece that fit my personality that was good for the competition.
But last night I saw God in my music. I saw the long way my memorization skills have come in the last two months, how my patience (against my will) has developed, and I experienced a joy that few understand. The joy that comes from a truly beautiful piece of music, and the ability to share it with yourself, and to share yourself through your music with God. I thank God so deeply, for the gift he's given to me, and for giving me a gift that is so easily shared with others. I don't know where my gifts will take me in life, I don't know how much longer my hands will work, but I hope that while they do still work, I remember to thank God for them every day.
No matter the outcome of my competition on Saturday, whether I win the spot with LSO or not, I feel I've won. I've had a great challenge, and have met it, not through my own strength, but by learning to depend more fully on God. It seems it's a lesson God has to teach me over and over again. I can only hope someday it gets through my thick head.
"I will sing of Your mercy
That leads me through valleys of sorrow
To rivers of joy"
-The Valley Song, Jars of Clay
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Egads! It's another week!
Well, I missed one deadline last week (for the blog sillies), and I'm moments away from missing another. Life got crazy. It does that. I have a friend who likes to say that if she tried to live life with as much energy as I do, she would be exhausted by noon. A fair assumption, since I'm generally exhausted by 10:30am. What, you thought this was real? It's just an act!
A few of the fun things on my plate right now:
- Memorizing a concerto, listen here. To the pros, not me! Bach's Concerto in D Minor for harpsichord (some of us use the piano). That's nineteen pages of sixteenth notes, for those of you who can't hear that. Well, 17 pages of sixteenth notes, 2 pages of 32nd notes, but we're really just splitting hairs now. (listen for the coughing about 3.5 minutes in, promise, its there!)
- Rotary's District Governor for District 6040 is coming to visit the WJC Rotaract club (that's right, we're alive and kicking) and bringing with him someone(s?) from UMKC to pick my brain. I also have the privilege of giving him a campus tour of the WJC while he is here. We're going to poke our noses in classrooms, etc. Should be grand fun. I understand there's a few Liberty Rotary folk going as well.
- 2 big research reports, one on the Tet Offensive and one on Women's Suffrage in the USA
- A fantastic performance by Emmanuel Axe last night (TWO encores!) with the Harriman-Jewell Series.
- Upcoming performance of my own on Thursday!
Well, we're just scraping the top layer. I'm going to wrap this one up a little short, my hands are ready to fall off from all the playing of piano.
A few of the fun things on my plate right now:
- Memorizing a concerto, listen here. To the pros, not me! Bach's Concerto in D Minor for harpsichord (some of us use the piano). That's nineteen pages of sixteenth notes, for those of you who can't hear that. Well, 17 pages of sixteenth notes, 2 pages of 32nd notes, but we're really just splitting hairs now. (listen for the coughing about 3.5 minutes in, promise, its there!)
- Rotary's District Governor for District 6040 is coming to visit the WJC Rotaract club (that's right, we're alive and kicking) and bringing with him someone(s?) from UMKC to pick my brain. I also have the privilege of giving him a campus tour of the WJC while he is here. We're going to poke our noses in classrooms, etc. Should be grand fun. I understand there's a few Liberty Rotary folk going as well.
- 2 big research reports, one on the Tet Offensive and one on Women's Suffrage in the USA
- A fantastic performance by Emmanuel Axe last night (TWO encores!) with the Harriman-Jewell Series.
- Upcoming performance of my own on Thursday!
Well, we're just scraping the top layer. I'm going to wrap this one up a little short, my hands are ready to fall off from all the playing of piano.
Monday, November 1, 2010
CSA 2010
As promised, the weekend was really a great time to be a celiac. I live tweeted the whole conference (my handle is traveling_girl) met lots of new friends, and even got to meet one of my favorite twitter friends: GlutenFreeDee. She and I have been communicating for quite some time through twitter, I found her while I was in England, and she kept me up to date on happenings on the Gluten-free front in America, and I shared all of the joys and pains of traveling gluten-free in a foreign country with her.
Folks, she's even cooler in person. As awesome as she is on twitter, facebook, and her blog, she's even more amazing when you get to stand there face to face and chat with her.
I also met this amazing dietitian and nutitionist, Bruce Homstead. He lives in Massachusetts, but is originally from Maine. Considering the Americorps option I want, I picked his brain for a bit, and then we talked longer and he helped me figure out some great strategies for dealing with being hypoglycemic.
I'm so full of joy right now. Inexplainable joy. These people (every single one that I can't sit here and list because this post would be too long) that cared, honestly cared, made me feel normal. All these "normal" people running around eating gluten-free food.
Oh, and the food.
The food was simply incredible. Salads, entrees, dinner bread, foccacia, biscuits, shortbread, strawberry shortcake, BBQ ribs, amazing side dishes (not JUST RICE!) and that's not even counting the samples from the vendor fair. I came home with a bag full of samples, giveaways, and two gifts from my two favorite companies, Glutino and Pamela's. I got to talk to both table for a bit, and told them how they saved my life, figuratively speaking. They made me love food and look forward to cookies and baked goods again, and I really wanted the companies to understand the service they perform. They made me a person, normal again. They didn't just provide a product, they provided morale and happiness. They both shoved a lot of free stuff in my hands because of it. In retrospect, I have to say, well played.
I also won a contest. I never win anything, so I was beyond shocked when they called my name at Saturday's lunch that I had won a drawing. I got a free bag of flour and a cute little tote bag that says "Celiac Sprue Association" on it with the logo. Sweet.
I am overwhelmed with medical and dietitian and nutritionist info. I was also one of two 20 somethings there, so I got my brain picked a lot (the other 20 something was staff). A lot, a lot. Everyone from Dee, to the nutritionist for the University of Kansas to the staff nutritionist for CSA wanted my opinion on how to reach the 20 something crowd. I gave out my contact info more times than I can count, invited phone calls, emails, etc.
I'm just fired up. I'm proud to be a Celiac now. It's not something I need to slink away from, it's who I am, I should just own it and go on with my life. That's right. I'm the cool one. :)
Folks, she's even cooler in person. As awesome as she is on twitter, facebook, and her blog, she's even more amazing when you get to stand there face to face and chat with her.
I also met this amazing dietitian and nutitionist, Bruce Homstead. He lives in Massachusetts, but is originally from Maine. Considering the Americorps option I want, I picked his brain for a bit, and then we talked longer and he helped me figure out some great strategies for dealing with being hypoglycemic.
I'm so full of joy right now. Inexplainable joy. These people (every single one that I can't sit here and list because this post would be too long) that cared, honestly cared, made me feel normal. All these "normal" people running around eating gluten-free food.
Oh, and the food.
The food was simply incredible. Salads, entrees, dinner bread, foccacia, biscuits, shortbread, strawberry shortcake, BBQ ribs, amazing side dishes (not JUST RICE!) and that's not even counting the samples from the vendor fair. I came home with a bag full of samples, giveaways, and two gifts from my two favorite companies, Glutino and Pamela's. I got to talk to both table for a bit, and told them how they saved my life, figuratively speaking. They made me love food and look forward to cookies and baked goods again, and I really wanted the companies to understand the service they perform. They made me a person, normal again. They didn't just provide a product, they provided morale and happiness. They both shoved a lot of free stuff in my hands because of it. In retrospect, I have to say, well played.
I also won a contest. I never win anything, so I was beyond shocked when they called my name at Saturday's lunch that I had won a drawing. I got a free bag of flour and a cute little tote bag that says "Celiac Sprue Association" on it with the logo. Sweet.
I am overwhelmed with medical and dietitian and nutritionist info. I was also one of two 20 somethings there, so I got my brain picked a lot (the other 20 something was staff). A lot, a lot. Everyone from Dee, to the nutritionist for the University of Kansas to the staff nutritionist for CSA wanted my opinion on how to reach the 20 something crowd. I gave out my contact info more times than I can count, invited phone calls, emails, etc.
I'm just fired up. I'm proud to be a Celiac now. It's not something I need to slink away from, it's who I am, I should just own it and go on with my life. That's right. I'm the cool one. :)
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