It’s hard to believe it is already Friday and hard to believe it is already 11:00! Where did my morning go?
I have one more grandparent to cover. Here she is earlier this year with my brother…sneaking a couple of worldly photographs just to make her grandson smile. It’s nice to report that this one is ALIVE! Reubmommy is 94 and will be 95 in January. She is a spry little thing, standing about 4’11” she towers over no one but stands up to anyone.
Her name is Mattie and she is one of the older children in her family. She lost her mother at a young age and when her father remarried she became older sister and caregiver to the new baby siblings that followed. She has been very conscientious to my siblings and I since my mother died, relating to our loss and stepping up to encourage and support where a mother once would have filled a role. She has been especially accommodating to me in the area of quilting. She supplies me with patterns, scraps and suggestions as I’ve learned the craft.
As an Amish woman, she fits the mold in the area of quilting. In most other 
areas…she’s her own cookie. Her cell phone and well hidden microwave suggest a modern woman by Amish standards and her refusal to continue living without electricity keeps her from being an upstanding member of the church. However, she is a member and a member she will remain.
I have no memory at all of being in her house without a quilt being set up in her front room. The south facing window always casting sunshine on the hundreds of tiny pieces of fabric that have gained redemption by her creative hands. With her sewing machines always lined with blocks about to become someones treasure as they await their turn at the quilting frame and her cabinets stuffed with more and more fabric and thread and patterns, she is always productive. Few scraps are too small for a place at the cutting table and few colors have missed a turn in the kaleidoscope of stars and blocks and patches she has produced. Each of her 29 grandchildren have received a handmade masterpiece from her. Usually on their wedding day. Most of her great-grandchildren have received at least a baby quilt and as long as her hands are able, she will keep giving.
So…all of that said…I had to make her limerick at least a little about quilting.
A little old widow named Mattie,
Lives free of the need to be chatty.
Now beyond ninety years,
She’s squashed any fears,
That more than her quilts will go batty.
And there it is…the last of the grandparent series.
If you only knew what doing Friday Limericks has blossomed into. Tonight I am the MC for the Ladies Night of Laughter and without giving away too much to those of you who will attend I will simply say…my limericks have become a part of the show.
Grandma and Mema are here and the boys are having a great time with their patient playmates. I am enjoying the adult company and have probably talked way too much.
In completely arbitrary news: on Monday and Tuesday a rafter of wild turkey pranced through our back yard. They gobbled and clawed away at the ground looking for grubs and bugs and whatever else that would satisfy their cravings. I counted 20 of them on Tuesday…on Monday I was too busy taking pictures to count. Yes…there are pictures but do you think I’ve had the means or the time to put them on the computer? Of course not. Just enjoy the fact that it happened with me for now. I’ll get to pictures one of these days.
Beautiful story. Well-written limerick.
Thank you for the smile!
She sounds like such a neat lady, you’ve gotta admire the spirit to have electricity and a cell phone when you’re amish. Having spent a little bit of time with the amish, I often wondered what they were really like and if they were happy and if they *ever* had any fun or just worked until they passed out, exhausted. It’s a different life but I’d love some simplicity like that- for a little while.
On the positive side of things, the Amish have a great advantage on stillness and contentment. Without the barrage of “you could have” being flashed in their faces non stop or even the opportunity to make clothing or car comparisons among their friends they are uniquely able to be satisfied. Don’t get me wrong, they still compare things…better horses, houses, flower beds, better housekeeping etc. There’s always a way to be covetous. But you see what I’m saying. I think that most of them are happy because they have a peace about their accomplishments and they’re not bogged down with keeping up with anyone. In that…fun comes in a different form. Where some people might find it boring to go to a “singing” or just go for an impromptu visit…they find it fulfilling and even exciting. They play games and enjoy the outdoors too so…they have a lot of the same fun we do.
Even my conservative upbringing brought this question though. When I was a senior in high school an acquaintance said to me…”Mary, I always wondered why you were happy all the time when you never did anything fun.” I thought I did lots of fun things…but our versions of fun were very different.