The Family

Being a new MFA student means being part of a group of displaced writers chasing their dreams. Most people think I'm in Alaska, so I must be meeting a lot of Alaskans. Truth is, we have a couple of those. But most of us are from the lower 48 -- from Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Washington, Tennessee, Wyoming, South Carolina, Oregon, Massachusetts....

With the holidays approaching, we've pieced together our family the best we can. Most of us first years are getting to be good friends. In the office, we rely on each other for help with homework, teaching, and writing. Writing is held as a sacred act. Teaching and homework can be interrupted, but if anyone even mumbles the words, "I'm writing," those being distracting apologize and leave. Most distracting for me personally is Wisconsin, an antsy nonfiction writer whose desk is near mine. Still, I especially relish the afternoons when we're both writing, when I know magic is happening, when he interrupts me every fifteen minutes with, "Hey, Lisa, how does this sound?"

On weekends, we gather to pretend, for just a little while, that we are not drowning under a pile of homework, grading, and revisions. Last weekend, this meant meeting up at Wisconsin's cabin to can the sauerkraut he'd been making in a bucket under his table. There was food, drinks, music, dancing, and, of course, canning. All the food was homemade, and almost everything had to have kraut in it. It was sauerkraut day, after all! Crackers and hummus, pizza with sourdough and kraut, chocolate sauerkraut cake. In all, we canned something like 32 pints of sauerkraut that evening. I like to liken these sorts of events to a barn raising: we get together, get work done, and have a good time doing it. (The picture is from when the "Iowa Waltz" started playing. Of course, I had to dance to it!)

We're making plans to have Thanksgiving at my place. A big turkey-stuffing-mashed potatoes-pie kind of Thanksgiving, the way it's supposed to be done. I'm looking forward to having the family together for dinner.