The "Helpful Hints and Laughter From Amishland: The Circle Of Life So Far" Story

It was an ordinary day.  That was until I opened my emails and found an email from my cousin Susan who lives about 20 minutes from me in what she refers to as Amishland.  Her neighbors allegedly don't drive cars, don't use electricity and dress in plain garb with colors such as black and white.  The hills around her country home are alive with the sounds of music, as long as that music doesn't come from an electric radio or heaven forbid an electronic device.  At the end of many of the lanes leading to the Amish farms stand small wooden sheds that have a phone in them.  Not supposed to have a phone in the house since that connects the family with the outside world, but having a shed at the end of your farm land is OK.  Make sense?  

Susan's "Circle of Life so Far"

Today's email from Susan tells of a marvelous idea she has come up with to sort out old photographs.  Seems she bought $.94 plastic bins at the local Target which she will eventually use to hold the photos she is finding in just about every crevice and drawer in her home.  She was married to husband Gary, whom she refers to as Gman, in 1976 and therefore her "Circle of Life so Far" begins with that year.  A big circle of photos starts with a 3"x5" card labeled 1976.  Around the circle are cards and photos from every year up to present.  Pretty neat idea if I may say so.  Great way to organize all the old Polaroids and snapshots from the Instamatic.  After every corner in her home has been searched and photos placed on the correct pile, she can place them in the plastic bins and put them away once again.  We have communicated about what our kids will do with all this stuff we have accumulated over the years when we die.  Throw it away?  Save it for their kids to throw away when they die?  The "Circle of Life so Far" seems to never end.  I guess that is good!  How else will people hundreds of years from now ever know what we looked like or what our tastes might have been.  Susan's email was dated February 6 which was my dad's birthday.  Susan can always remember that date since her birthday is the day after my dad's birthday.  One really neat thing that she has kept for her "Circle of Life so Far" is a birthday card that my mom painted for her years ago.  It features an Amish family on the front with a verse on the inside.  Funny the things we save to reflect on years later.  So Susan, I love your idea of the circle with dates on cards to help organize your life.  I must do that myself.  And …. the story about you having the ugliest wedding dress ever was hilarious.  I must share that …. but that's a story for another time.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The inside and front on my mother's birthday card she sent to Susan one year.