My Life as An Amish Wife

by Lena Yoder

  This week I have some much-needed sewing projects to do. As far as I know, I’ll be home every day, and we only have plans for one evening, so I plan to accomplish a lot. I can dream big, but I will take one day at a time. Karah and Emily still need thick winter coats, plus dresses. I have fabric for a dress for myself, but I’d much rather sew for the others.

  I also have some craft painting projects going, working on those to the wee hours of the morning. Takes a lot of coffee to keep me going. These hours will only be for a season though.

  We will host church services on Christmas Day. It’s also our turn to host Wayne’s family Christmas gathering, planned for the thirtieth.

  Christmas is a special time, a time of rejoicing in the Lord. It’s a wonderful time to praise God, be glad in him, continue on in prayer, and remember God’s promises to those who truly love him. Be thankful in all things. Acknowledge where we come from, and count our many blessings.

  We’ve still got the dogs! This morning while it was still dark, I was bent over the generator plugging in the cord to do the laundry when something touched me! I whirled around ready to do battle, and there stands Jacob as innocent as can be. He got my blood pressure up in a hurry.

  Year 5

  Winter

  Wayne wonders how I ever survived the time I helped chore four hours a day, plus had my hands full with our little children. I wonder too. During that time I invited company over for supper a lot more than I do now, and my memory (is it playing tricks on me?) tells me I wasn’t any more harried than I am now.

  Whose fault is it? My own. I have no one else to blame except me. Several things play a factor, I suppose. Number one, it seems being a mother becomes much more challenging as the children grow. We get older. Even though I feel better than I did when the children were small, I probably do move slower. There are so many decisions to make each day, and then the greatest struggle for me is sticking to the decisions I make. I think it’s children’s nature to push their mom for all she’s worth. Another challenge is to keep them busy yet happy.

  The three youngest girls haven’t learned to associate work and happiness in the same category yet. Being penned up in this house during the winter just adds to their misery. Sure, they do go outside, but to them it seems the inside work is endless and miserable. I tell them that all who wish to participate in our family must help pull the load. We do not tolerate slackers. They forget about the free time they have.

  Four or five nights a week the children and I go over to Ida’s basement to walk, rollerblade, Ripstik, play dodgeball, or some sort of ball game for heart-thumping exercise. We spend at least 30 minutes down there. Long enough to get red-faced and sweaty, be ready to head back to our house, want to shower and go to bed. I strongly believe in being physically active, plus I find this a very enjoyable time with my children.

  Another factor of all these crazy schedules is the rebirth of my acrylic painting. For 11 years I put that hobby on the back shelf. Every once in a while I would paint something for a gift or some greeting cards, but nothing major. Well, now I am painting again. My first big event for painting was for a Christmas crafters sale at a big event center in November. I was pleased with the reception of my products, plus I really enjoyed working with the public. I enjoyed the two days at the sale so much I actually felt guilty.

  The next week I hurriedly sewed some dresses for Jolisa, and one for myself, amongst other motherly duties. I also had a canister set to paint for someone, plus a sizeable paint order to have done to take along to Ohio that weekend. Wayne and I were planning on going to a book-signing for my cookbook in Berlin. Is this busyness worth it? I did get done with Wayne and the children’s help. They fully support me. Without their support I wouldn’t even attempt this business.

  Brian perfected his domestic skills by helping me be ready when the driver came on Friday morning. He can handle the broom pretty well. He conned Jesse into doing the breakfast dishes though. Today when I retrieved a pot from the cupboard to cook pancake syrup, I wondered what had been severely burned in it… as there was plenty of evidence left in the pot. The girls informed me it was from Brian’s cooking one of the days I was gone. He’d heated rice. I wonder how it tasted. I’m convinced it had extra flavor.

  Wayne and I arrived in Holmes County, Ohio, on Friday afternoon. We immensely enjoyed our tour of Carlisle Printing. We then enjoyed supper and fellowship on the Michael Miller farm with friends. We joined our friends Daniel, Mae, and their son Tristan in their surrey to journey to their house for the night. We got a true taste of their hills when their horse Cody couldn’t keep his footing trying to pull us up one of those hills. My surrey door was open for a quick escape. It wasn’t necessary. Daniel and Tristan soon had everything under control.

  I had commissioned my sister Ida to bake some cream pies for us to take along, as that seemed to be a new recipe for our Buckeye friends. I also baked some, although I am not a pro like Ida is. These proved to be a hit and a conversation favorite when ladies showed interest in my cookbooks at the book signing. One lady came back to us showing that she’d bought cream to bake this pie. Ohio might be famous for Trail bologna and Swiss cheese, but Indiana (at least my family) has baked cream pies!

  We arrived home safe and sound at 8:15, tired and ready to see the children again. They had done a super job of keeping the home fires burning. Jesse had been sick with a fever and stomachache, but they had done well in taking care of him. They were all ready for bed when we got home, but they listened to our stories before retiring.

  Wayne says they want to haul all the manure this week. Brian is disassembling a windbreak behind the barn that was damaged by high winds. There is always something to be done outside. If nothing else, Brian can clean up after the dogs. They are still here, they still make messes, they still work on my nerves, I am still overruled.

  Colleen and I began cleaning for church. We have now cleaned out most of the kitchen cupboards. That proves to be a time-consuming job—to wash all the canisters and organize everything. The Tupperware behind those doors can be horrific, as is the small-container lid drawer. Now everything looks and feels so nice. I gave the girls a lesson on putting the dishes away and always in the same spot. I want to clean out several more cupboards—a good day or two’s worth—and then start with walls, furniture, and such. I am anxious to begin because it is so necessary.

  I’ve been trying new soup recipes this winter. I love soup. My children say, “Soup again?” followed by moaning and groaning. But, hey, soup goes with our lifestyle—simple, warm, and filling.

  Jolisa is jump-roping here in the kitchen, just a flyin’. In the meantime, the girls are taking turns setting the table. Karah put on the plates and glasses. Jolisa will fill the glasses with water. Emily is putting on the silverware. They make sure no one does more or less than the other. I basically grew up alone, but my girls are pros at sibling rivalry. Fairness must be practiced to a T, no matter that they are not the exact same age. Motherhood is not for sissies.

  Now they are playing horse. Jesse is driving Emily, and Jolisa is driving Karah. Brian is teasing them, thinking they are too old to be playing horsey. They are, but such is life in the middle of winter with the children’s pent-up energy. Most of them are barefooted because part of the kitchen floor is so slippery. My mistake. We bought new shoes for the three schoolgirls, and Wayne told me to spray them with silicone as an added protective cover. I did and I thought I was okay with spraying them on a carpet, but it wasn’t okay. The spray floated all over, making it outright dangerous to walk sock-footed in the kitchen. We’re liable to break some bones. The children admitted they are glad it was mama because they surely would have been reprimanded.

  Today Colleen did the laundry and some cleaning up. After breakfast, sweeping and mopping the floor, and getting the girls to school, I got some mail ready to send. The rest of the forenoon I spent on a writing project. I fixed some leftovers and a salad for lunch, and then I wrote all afternoon again. Tha
t’s all I got accomplished. It kind of gave me the blues.

  For supper we’re having more leftover “chicken and Tater Tot” casserole, green beans, and applesauce. Popcorn will be good once we settle in the living room. I have to walk at least 20 minutes yet before I can relax. I have pent-up energy that needs to be calmed. It was a drab, dreary day, making me long for spring.

  Today Brian cleaned both the horse and heifer barns, worked with his yearling colt, and got the horses out of a field they weren’t supposed to be in twice. He also raked part of the yard for me. After a heavy snowfall, so many small twigs were on the ground looking messy. The snow all melted, making it possible for him to rake.

  Karah, Emily, and Jolisa fixed their lunches and swept the house before they went to school. I had some proofreading and other paperwork to do. After the girls left for school, Brian, Jesse, and I went across the driveway to Ida’s house to clean her basement. We scrubbed the walls and floor, getting it ready to host church services and various gatherings. Brian’s long legs and arms came in handy to clean the pipes that I couldn’t reach. He would’ve rather been outside, but he gave up and helped me until we were done. Jesse played with a SuperBall he found down there. Little guy has to entertain himself these days. He is six years old already. He discovered he can draw. His imagination and pencil work well together. Anyway, it was high time for lunch by the time we got back to our house.

  This afternoon I worked on painting pictures on a big, white, wooden toy box that someone ordered. Time got away from me as I was thoroughly enjoying myself. It has a little girl’s name in balloon letters, flowers, a puppy, a ladybug, a dragonfly, a turtle, a butterfly, and some froggies. I had not undertaken a project like this in a long time, and it was fun.

  After supper, Wayne and I walked the three-fourths mile to school for the monthly meeting with the teachers. We were too early, so we continued to walk a while longer, turned back, and then stood outside talking until it was time to go in. I thoroughly enjoyed our date! Walking home together under the starry sky was relaxing to the max. We needed that time together.

  The house was quiet when we came home. The children had showered and were in bed. The three schoolgirls, of course, came downstairs wanting to know what their teachers had to say about them. I asked them if they were guilty about something, and they didn’t think they were. No, they had nothing to worry about.

  After doing the mid-week laundry, sweeping the house, and washing the dishes, Colleen, Jesse, and I went across the driveway to Ida’s house again to continue with the cleaning. My stepmom, Alice, also helped us, which I really appreciated. We cleaned the two bedrooms, extra bath, and sewing room. It feels good and clean.

  After lunch break, I washed the curtains and doilies. It was a beautiful, sunny day for doing laundry. Colleen took care of our dry laundry. Once the girls were home from school, they swept the house. Where does all the dirt come from?

  After our supper of cheesy potato soup, garlic dill pickles, and red beets, Emily, Jolisa, and Jesse did a great job of doing the dishes. They completely cleared the counters, wiped the stove front, and swept the crumbs from under the table. I praised them for the job well done.

  Emily stayed home from school today as she started with a bad cold. Karah also has it, but hopefully the bug will stop there. The children just now informed me that the dog chewed up the new four-way plugin I keep in the mudroom.

  Mandy is in serious trouble. She about wrapped up her death sentence. She is so protective of us—too protective—as she has gotten hold of too many socks and shoes of people coming to the door. I can’t handle that. Jacob is very protective of us too. His size is very intimidating to people, but he is a gentle giant. The dogs slept on bunk beds in the mudroom, pushing the boots off the shelves. One slept on the bottom shelf; the other one the second shelf. Come morning, we had to organize the boots on the shelves again. That era must come to a close. I will resume ownership of the mudroom. We’ll put a box or an old blanket out there for Jacob.

  The clock shows 4:40 AM. My cup of Starbucks Colombian coffee is depleted already. Hopefully it will do its job well and give me the boost I need. I need a mentality kick too! My devotions also contributed to a fresh start to the day. I am reading the interesting stories of Abraham. How very different our lives are and yet so similar. We are failing humans in need of a Savior.

  The house is quiet except for the ticking of the clock and the warm hum of the gas lamp above me. Wayne left for work 10 minutes ago, and the six children are still in bed. I savor this moment. Too bad my coffee is all gone, and I’m too lazy to go make another cup.

  I am surely enjoying these slower months. Slow months? That’s how I tend to label the months between Christmas and spring. They haven’t been exactly slow for me, but I make the bed I lie in. I think I have hobbyitis. I just pieced two quilts for my sister Leanna’s quilt shop. Next week I need to work on paint orders and also sew for the family. My family is not neglected. Sometimes they are sorely underprivileged though… just ask them. I believe they are very normal children. The schoolgirls’ line is that they always have to wear the same school dresses. Gasp! Did you hear that? Every week, week after week. Always the same ones. I do laundry three times a week, and I remind them they always have a clean dress to wear. I do not think it necessary to have more than four school dresses. They have more dresses to wear if we have plans in the evening, plus their Sunday and everyday dresses. No, they are not underprivileged at all. We are blessed—blessed indeed.

  I am bummed out at packing lunches. There are five that need to be filled. Wayne still wants a sandwich for the convenience of not having to wait in line to use the microwave. Colleen wants leftovers from supper, rice, or a salad. I’d be so sick and tired of eating those things, but I guess I often eat the same simple things for my lunch too. The schoolgirls’ tastes vary so much. Right now Jolisa’s into toasted cheese sandwiches. Yesterday morning she almost cried when I asked her what she’s having for lunch. The girls fix their own lunches, but I knew if she wanted a toasted cheese, I’d have to make it for her. She said she wanted one, but the other girls at school tease her that that’s the only thing she eats. I convinced her that it doesn’t matter, and soon she was her happy self again. They all eat peaches almost every day. Canned or frozen, frozen or canned, it doesn’t vary too much. Sometimes they’ll take yogurt. Swiss Roll Cake is a favorite among most of them. Brian eats that like it’s going out of style. He eats anything like crazy, and it’s no wonder with the way he keeps growing. He towers over me.

  Brian is prepping his colt, Lancer, to sell at the Topeka horse sale. Clipping, exercising, leading, and feeding some oily supplement of some kind. He was concerned Lancer wouldn’t eat his feed with the new top dressing, so at 8:00 last night he went outside to check. He was happy to report that the young horse had eaten it all. He spends a lot of time with Lancer, and I hope he does well at the sale.

  I asked Brian if I should go with him to the sale because Wayne would be working. He said sure! You know I am not a horse-sale person, but I’m guessing Jesse and I will go. I actually enjoy the horse sale—watching the horses, the wildly stepping men and boys that lead the horses, and the interesting ramble of the auctioneers. It’s the crowd that keeps me home in my comfort zone.

  Jesse looks forward to the horse sale. He is one bored six-year-old. One winter morning, I was hanging up laundry over our coal stove in the kitchen when he came to me asking what he could do. I sighed. Then he said, “I know, Mom. Here we go again!” We got him more preschool workbooks to work in, a wooden toy set, and a 1/16-scale backhoe for his Christmas and birthday presents thinking that would give him something different to do. His Aunt Ida gave him a skid loader that makes sounds—something that he’s been wishing for, for a long time already. Now, I have to remind him to play with it. Yesterday Wayne made a pallet for the skid loader, so Jesse was hauling blocks around last night. Hopefully that will last a while. He’s more into writing and drawing, and he doe
s spend a lot of time with pencil and paper. He won’t go to school yet next term, but maybe I will need to homeschool him to keep him occupied.

  My sister Ida gave the girls a Sizzix for Christmas. It’s a wonderful little hand-cranked machine that gives homemade cards unique character. It’s given the girls hours of fun already. The girls have a table set up on the porch, and every evening after the supper dishes are done they are making pretty cards. I think they need to open a store.

  This warm winter weather we’ve been having has been wonderful for me. So far I’ve not had to deal with cabin fever nearly as much as usual, probably because of the beautiful, sunny, laundry-drying days we’ve had.

  For Wayne and Brian, it’s been more frustrating because of the mud. Everything is so dirty outside. Hauling manure is so frustrating because the fields are way too soft to drive on. Plus they can’t pile the manure because it isn’t frozen.

  One Monday that Brian could haul manure also happened to be a beautiful wash day. I didn’t realize how bad the manure smell was outside because I was just in the house after I was done hanging the laundry outside. That evening while wiping my face on a towel after a shower, I realized how bad the smell must have been. The next day Wayne said he could smell it on his clothes all day and was very conscious of it. I could have cried. Our Sunday clothes marinated in manure! The towels smelled the worst though, especially after they were wet. Oh well, could’ve been something worse.