Monday, November 9, 2009

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far...

On Sunday's I get to hang out with my children. My kids are extremely social and busy and whether they are with me for the weekend or their father they are always between parties and playdates and sleepovers and my very own personal time is usually when I am putting their laundry in their room or when I am making them some sort of meal.
I like time with just them. I try to think of things to entice them into hanging out with me and only me for a while. Once we get passed the part where they bicker about something the three of us have a good time.
Yesterdays adventure was taking the hour drive to see my oldest brother and his family. They are great fun. They also live an hour from here in Amish country. They are not Amish though. Not that I know of at least. :)
So we drive through farm lands and by horse and buggies and we see all sorts of sights. I have the annoying tendency of liking to stop the car on road trips. I like to take pictures of nonsense. It is one of my favorite things to do. My daughter is the exact same way. She is delighted by our road trips sights. Funny signs, interesting looking people, any boring, old, kind of animal that is close enough to the road for us to get a picture. It takes my son a little bit of time to warm up to this. He pretends like he doesn't at first and he thinks we are offending people by taking pictures of their every day life. While I guess in the abstract :) this could be true it is certainly not our intention. We are just fascinated by shiny objects or little tiny horses or people with lives different than ours.

" Saige!, get out the camera!! Look! The Amish, they are playing some sort of Amish game!"
"Oh my God Mom, don't even take their picture. They are not zoo animals," Chase says.
Luckily Saige already has the camera turned on and the window down. She is ready to go.
"I know they're not zoo animals, but they are playing some sort of Amish game and I think we should record it so we can refer back to when you are studying the Amish," I reply like the concerned parent that I am.

"That's not an Amish game! That's volleyball!" Chase yells at us.
Well yes it is. Hmm... I don't care. You just don't see that everyday.

"Pull over Mom! Look! Another little tiny horse," Saige says excitedly.
'I yuv yittle tiny horsies!" I say like an idiot.
"Oh great. Just what I wanted to do today, take pictures of farm animals," Chase says.
"Technically it is Saige taking the pictures, if you want to use exact words Greg Brady," I say.
I just got an eye roll for that one.
"LOOK! An amish tree!" Saige says.

"Why are the people Amish?" Saige asks.
"Cause they are," I reply smartly.
"Do you think they are nice to their horses?" she asks.
"I sure hope so."
"They just all look so...so," she starts.
"So what?" I ask.
"So miserable."
Because there is clearly something wrong with me and my sense of humor this struck me so funny that I started laughing until there were tears streaming down my face.
"What's so funny?" Chase demands.
"Mom! Mom! Look!!" he says.
"What is it?"
"Did you see how big that horse's butt was? It was huge!" he says amazed."You should take a picture of that."

Riki tiki tembo is finally on board.
And Saige already has the camera out.

...From the Tree.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

...all this hoopla and you were in my back yard. hope you enjoyed your visit with the amish :)
~jami

Amish Tourism Board said...

Please subscribe to our monthly newsletter (it is delivered by horse and buggy) to learn about amazing feats of Amish culture such as eating, walking and breathing. Yes, we do all three, often at the exact same time!

Billy Yorn said...

How would you like it if an Amish family pulled over their horse drawn buggy to sketch a picture with chalk on a bark of you doing something outlandish such as kicking a ball around the yard?

Dopey said...

How is it that the youngest person in your family is by far the most mature?

Trufe Teller said...

One time driving through Amish country in Arcola Illinois, we witnessed a goat standing on top of a horse. I kid you not. We pulled over but nobody had a camera (this was pre cam phone era). Zippy was there too. It was totally cool. The horse didn't mind at all - he just stood there grazing. How would you feel if a goat stood on your back while you ate hummus?

Trufe Teller said...

That comment up there might imply that I'm calling you a horse or worse, a horse's ass, but I'm not. Just clarifying since I know you like clarification, the art of making things clear.

Amy said...

Billy-
I would totally LOVE if the Amish pulled over and drew a picture of me!!! Can you set that up for me?

And Trufe Teller- If I had seen a goat sitting on top of a horse it would have kept me delighted for months! You are sooooo lucky. That's the trufe!

Kathy said...

Oh, to be a fly on your road trip wall.... too funny

Brother Chris said...

Count your blessings that you're lucky enough to have some Amish where you live. The closest we have is a family of turkeys that wanders through our neighborhood. I like the turkeys, but I'd sure like to see some Amish playing those strange games and participating in their rituals. I like this blog because I always pick up some really good cultural material that I can add to my personal data bank. Thanks for the thoughtful perspective on the Amish.

Christy said...

I would've been snapping pictures of the Amish if I drove by them too...guess we're both weird like that...

The Amish trees are my favorite!