Simple Pleasures: Stories From My Life as an Amish Mother by Marianne Jantzi

Author:Marianne Jantzi
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Personal Memoirs, Religious, Women
ISBN: 9781513800271
Publisher: Herald Press
Published: 2016-03-15T00:37:50.142000+00:00

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On a day when I devoured an envelope of material written by a writer friend, I felt like I’d had a day of vacation. No, not quite. I’d better say an hour of vacation, lest I stir jealousy!

Nothing about the beginning of the day hinted that it would feel like a vacation day. It was the end of winter and the sun refused to shine, so all signs pointed in the opposite direction.

The children were up before I started any of my early morning chores. Up and whining for a story, for breakfast, and for whatever else their tired little minds could think to whine about. That’s why the two boys and I were rocking and singing when Alyssa left for school, instead of doing morning work. Which in turn was why my 118

morning was half spent before my helper at the store, Johanna, and I reached the stack of boxes full of shoes waiting to be shelved. “A good morning should do it,” I had told her earlier.

But as I said before, this wasn’t exactly my version of a good morning. Especially when the boys continued their bickering and lunchtime was here before we had made more than a dent in the stack of boxes.

While I made lunch, the boys were impressed with Johanna’s puzzle-finding skills, and I with her patience. Eventually, we wound down to naptime, which Kyle stoutly declared he didn’t need. Not in the mood for a scene, I headed for the stairs proclaiming myself in dire need of one. Eric, who didn’t nap anymore, decided he needed one too. To aggravate his brother, I figured. Then Kyle whined, “But who will stay with me?”

We remedied that situation by adjusting the stairway door to stay open while he played and we slept. We were barely curled under our mink blankets when I heard a pitter-patter on the stairs. I was careful to keep my eyes closed as he nestled beside me. Dull days, early risings, and stressful mornings bring sweet rest. When I awoke later, my youngest slumbered on. I even changed my mind about Eric trying to be aggravating when I saw him curled up in his little bed, breathing deeply. A house this unusually quiet deserves something special, I decided.

I found it in the mailbox. A stack of delightful writing from a correspondent plus a favorite magazine. That’s how I knew it was vacation day. Such a day I must guard carefully, for it usually comes my way unexpectedly only about once a year. I needed to seize the moment, let everything go, and make the most of its stay.

The only preparation required was a cup of coffee, my stack of mail, and the recliner. I let the hour slip blissfully by between sips 119

of black liquid and reading of hosting a Shia Muslim exchange student, events surrounding the death of the king of Saudi Arabia, and the small details of a trip to Vancouver Island to attend a brother’s wedding. Mamas just returned from vacation are happy, relaxed mamas.

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