I know all Amish folk are not the same,
but the ones I know, I love.
a couple weekends of going without a curling iron, enjoying media free evenings of talking and singing, gathering together in lit rooms, snuggling extra close to my daughter to warm-up our winter bed, finding my way to the bathroom by cell phone light, riding extra cozy with six in a buggy, shaking every woman's hand at Sunday meeting, dusting off my German to translate sermons and songs, sitting on long row benches, sharing an after-church meal, staying up way-too-late singing favorite southern hymns at a Saturday night sing, dressing plain for true Sabbath on an at home Sunday, meeting countless immediate family in the respectful rotation of adoring visitors coming to see and stay with Mummy (the matriarch of the family), picking mint for a fresh pitcher of tea, running through pumpkin fields, shopping in bulk for dry goods, visiting a couple widows, ordering yards of fabric for quilting projects,...
has taught me that I need to
...talk less.
...say more.
...laugh more.
...love more.
...work hard.
...sleep well.
...sing while I cook.
...sing while I scrub floors.
...sing while I pull weeds.
...sing while I do laundry.
...don't be in a hurry.
...enjoy my guests.
...enjoy my family more.
Family...
love my family.
Are we so different?
This was oldest son's first day to mow around our house. He's cut flat-land grass for his grandfather, but never our lawn. He has dreams of driving the tractor across our fields like his father.
We're not big-scale farmers, but we're country... gardens to plant, fields to mow. And what country boy doesn't long to have a job... "a man's job" as my boys say, "get outside and do some real work".
Life can seem so complicated.
...as complicated as I let it be.
but the ones I know, I love.
a couple weekends of going without a curling iron, enjoying media free evenings of talking and singing, gathering together in lit rooms, snuggling extra close to my daughter to warm-up our winter bed, finding my way to the bathroom by cell phone light, riding extra cozy with six in a buggy, shaking every woman's hand at Sunday meeting, dusting off my German to translate sermons and songs, sitting on long row benches, sharing an after-church meal, staying up way-too-late singing favorite southern hymns at a Saturday night sing, dressing plain for true Sabbath on an at home Sunday, meeting countless immediate family in the respectful rotation of adoring visitors coming to see and stay with Mummy (the matriarch of the family), picking mint for a fresh pitcher of tea, running through pumpkin fields, shopping in bulk for dry goods, visiting a couple widows, ordering yards of fabric for quilting projects,...
has taught me that I need to
...talk less.
...say more.
...laugh more.
...love more.
...work hard.
...sleep well.
...sing while I cook.
...sing while I scrub floors.
...sing while I pull weeds.
...sing while I do laundry.
...enjoy my guests.
...enjoy my family more.
Family...
love my family.
Are we so different?
This was oldest son's first day to mow around our house. He's cut flat-land grass for his grandfather, but never our lawn. He has dreams of driving the tractor across our fields like his father.
We're not big-scale farmers, but we're country... gardens to plant, fields to mow. And what country boy doesn't long to have a job... "a man's job" as my boys say, "get outside and do some real work".
Life can seem so complicated.
...as complicated as I let it be.
