“With Lizzie as my new mamm, I keep thinking of my real mamm. But Daed doesn’t.”
Granny swallowed hard. This was Roman’s biggest fear. That if he remarried, his three girls would think he didn’t care for their deceased mamm. “Jenny, your daed’s been so lonely since your mamm went home to glory. He loved her dearly, and there was a big hole in his heart. Lizzie’s helping to fill it again. Understand?”
“But he has me….and Millie and Tillie….”
“And he wanted you to have a goot mamm.”
Jenny snuggled in closer to Granny. “We have you. You’re like a mamm.”
Granny kissed her granddaughter’s head and then pulled her away. “What are we doing? I have dirt all over me, and now look at your apron.”
“I can wash it myself. I know how to use the scrub board.”
“Well, now, why don’t you let your new mamm do that for you? Lizzie, I mean your mamm, will be glad to do it. Beautiful day to hang out laundry.”
“Are you going to do washing today?”
Granny nodded, knowing how much Jenny loved to hang clothes on the clothesline. Jeb had made one with a low rope just for her. “Do you want to help me?”
“Jah, but just with hanging…not with scrubbing…”
Granny grinned. “Then we’ll hang clothes after lunch.”
Jenny gave her another hug and ran back to the chicken coop to collect eggs. The sound of chirping came closer and closer and Granny pretended to look for birds. Soon Tillie and Millie came out from behind her rhododendron bush, laughing. “We tricked you again,” Millie yelled.
The twins came skipping toward her, their chestnut brown hair in braids, looking more reddish in the sun. She warned them not to hug her, not wanting them to get dirty, but Tillie was soon in her arms, not paying attention.
Tillie squeezed her tight. “Oma, I just love you….and my new mamm. I love you both.”
Granny took a deep breath, relieved that the five year old twins had taken so kindly to Lizzie. It had been only three weeks since the wedding and the twins followed their new mamm around like baby ducks. “I love you too, Tillie.” Granny looked over at Millie. “So what are you girls doing this morning?”
“We’re going to help Mamm and Daed in the garden all day. I’m so excited, because I love to plant seeds.” Millie, the twin who chattered endlessly, said, “Lizzie, I mean, Mamm, said we could have our own pumpkin patch.”
Tillie, the timid one, nodded her head in excitement. “Even little white pumpkins, Oma.”
“Can I help in your patch?” Granny asked.
“Jah,” Millie said. “I like to plant but not weed so much.
Granny pursed her lips to hide a grin. The girls were learning the art of gardening at a young age. More memories of her mamm letting her have her own sunflower garden blew through her mind. Was this the aging process, to have vivid memories of childhood? She shook her head to clear it. “How about yinz go down to the fishing hole for me, and wake up your Opa. He fell asleep again.”
Millie and Tillie nodded and skipped away. To be a kinner again, and have all that energy! Granny thought of all she and Jeb talked about at breakfast. He didn’t want her in a knitting circle since summer demanded so much work. And he knew how much she loved to garden. Give it a break, Deborah. Don’t even be in a knitting circle this summer, he’d said.
But she knew the demands of life would take over, and she’d only see her circle friends at church every other week. Knitting for charity was something she took pleasure in, too. But Jeb was right about one thing. Knitting shawls in the summer wasn’t appealing. Too hot and muggy to knit something so large. She knew the shawls made for the tornado victims in Missouri were appreciated, but in the summer, she imagined knitting something small. Nothing that would lie on the lap, like a blanket.
Well, it was Wednesday and the girls would all be coming over tonight. So much to talk about with the double wedding that took place right where she was standing.
“Guder mariye, Mamm,” she heard Lizzie call from her back porch.
Granny waved at her fondly. Lizzie was officially her daughter-in-law and it was a good dream come true. Sometimes she patted herself on the shoulder, giving herself some credit, having started the knitting circle last November so Lizzie would be at her house a lot, and would bump into Roman. But she knew God was the great matchmaker, not her. Lizzie walked toward her with bare feet. “Aren’t you cold, Lizzie?”
“Nee. I won’t be wearing shoes until October again. I like being close to nature.”
Granny hadn’t seen Lizzie beam like the sun above for years. She’d overcome a lot and now her face held no trace of her former pain. Pure joy poured out of her like water from a hand pump. “How are you today, Dochder?”
Lizzie hugged her. “I am your dochder, now. It’s nice to have a mamm again. And I love living here, away from the store.”
“How’s your daed doing?”
“He likes having Fannie and Melvin live with him, but he can’t stay with them forever. We’ll need to build that dawdyhaus this summer for sure.”
“I’d give it time. That store means a lot to him.”
“Jah, it does. Lots of exercise too, which is goot for MS and arthritis. But surely Fannie won’t want him there forever.”
“You know my favorite saying, ‘Give each short hour to God and the years will take care of themselves.’ I don’t look too far down the road…”
~*~
Fannie pushed on the spade to cut through the grass. She pushed the handle down to turn over the sod. This was what her life was like, turned upside down, but she’d never been happier. To think of how ugly and fat she thought she was last November, before the knitting circle started. She thought of Granny catching her looking at glossy glamour magazines at Punxsy -Mart. How she used to compare herself to those perfect women. The knitting circle helped her recondition her mind, along with Melvin, who was now her husband. When his big green eyes looked at her, she felt just as beautiful as the women in the magazine, maybe even prettier.
She sighed. It was inner beauty that counted the most, though. Was she being vain now, thinking she was so pretty because Melvin always told her she was? Fannie knew beauty faded, but when she looked at Granny she found it hard to believe. The woman was seventy and her gray hair only accented her light blue eyes. And she was still so petite…
Fanny wondered if she’d be pretty, like Granny, as she aged. What if Melvin found her unattractive as the years rolled by? She put up one hand. “I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” Fannie said out loud, shaking off her old self and putting on the new. Over the past three weeks since her marriage, she’d had to take the compliment box Melvin made her and pull out all the little things he wrote…little compliments. Why did she feel secure one minute and insecure the next? Granny told her that when so many emotions happened at once, they bring up the old. She looked over at the flapping laundry; how her emotions swayed.
Well, she was so happy and overwhelmed at the same time. Helping to run the store with Jonas was more work than imagined. His MS slowed him down and it pained her to see him fumble and drop so many items. She jumped every time she heard a can hit the floor. And then there were Amish men, friends of Melvin’s, always at the house, digging the foundation for the store addition and a new workshop. Melvin’s clocks were temporarily being shown to customers from her living room. The only constant was the seasons, and planting time was her favorite.
Melvin had suggested raised beds, since it required less weeding. How thoughtful of him to make the frames and help her dig up the soil. Men usually didn’t tend to the garden, but he seemed to want to do everything with her. Her heart fluttered with love…would it always be like this, or was love as fickle as roses? Blooming in abundance one year, the next looking dead? But she knew Granny put banana peels on the grounds around her many red rose bushes to nourish them; love needed to be nurtured. She’d tend the love she and Melvin shared, because he was certainly
a gift from God.
~*~
Ruth watched in amazement as Luke worked alongside her in the garden. He’d never helped before and now here he was, digging up an area around her bird feeders so he could plant Backyard Birds, the kit he got at Punxsy-Mart. Her dark brown eyes misted. It was a miracle he was doing this. Last November when Granny invited her to the knitting circle, she didn’t go at first. Shame of being in an abusive marriage had turned her into a hermit, and somehow Granny saw that. Once she opened her mouth, the bishop and elders descended on Luke like eagles on their prey. With firmness and love, they’d helped restore her marriage.
She walked over to Luke. “Danki for doing that for me.”
Luke looked up at her, his dark blue eyes filled with love. “I know how much you care for those feathered friends of yours.” He took off his straw hat, revealing his blond hair. “Do you know some people take wounded birds and restore them back to health? I’d like to do it.”
Ruth felt joy bubble up from within. Luke wanted to add one more thing to the list of things they did together. “I’d like to do it, too. But it’s lots of work. Baby birds need fed every two hours.”
“Do you think your folks would like to help? They live right there.” He pointed to the house behind them.
“They might. I don’t want to do it unless we do it as a family.” She looked down and enveloped the grass with her toes. “I’m hoping Mica will have a brother or sister soon…”
Luke ran over to her and grabbed her shoulders. “What are you saying? Are you pregnant?”
“I’m not sure yet. I mean, I might be, but I might not.” She put her arms around his neck. “I love you so much.”
He kissed her and pulled her close. “I can see that. Danki. I don’t deserve it.”
“Don’t look back, Luke. We have spring all around us, dead bulbs in the ground budding with new life. Our relationship was dead, but is as beautiful as the irises around the side of the shed.”
~*~
Ella sat on the grass to take a break. Starting a garden and watching twins was just too much. If only Zach didn’t work with the English and could be home like other Amish men, he could watch Moses and Vina while she tended the garden.
Dust blew in from the field behind their house. Hezekiah had offered to plow it up for them again this year. The roadside stand gave them much needed extra income and sweet corn would be added this year. Expenses were mounting up. Vaccinations, check-ups, disposable diapers; kinner were expensive, but worth every penny.
She walked over to the playpen. Vina and Moses were sound asleep. Her heart filled with love and gratitude. Being barren had been so painful. Ella remembered getting the letter from Granny to come to her knitting circle last fall. She knew Amish women talked about their kinner and didn’t want to go, but went to knit for charity, and try to be content having such a wunderbar goot husband.
But once she shared her pain with the circle, the wheels were set in motion. First, Ella felt encouraged to take in foster kinner, but she soon received the greatest Christmas present of all: twins from a woman in Troutville. The fact that Lavina, mamm of the twins, lived in Smicksburg didn’t upset her anymore. Lavina didn’t marry her old boyfriend, knowing he’d be a harsh daed, having endured a rough daed herself.
Ella closed her eyes and took in the smell of lilacs that were in full bloom. Bowing her head, she prayed God would redeem Lavina’s life, that He’d restore what was taken away. And a long prayer of gratitude was said again for the twins.
She went back to her kitchen garden and with bare feet, pushed the shovel into the ground. Fatigue ran through her. She needed help, but who could she ask? And how could they pay for it? Again, Ella bowed her head and said a casting off prayer. Granny had used the knitting term, “casting off”, as the name of her prayers when she started to fret. Cast your care upon the Lord for He cares for you.1 Peter 5:7
~*~
By six that night, Granny was plumb worn out. Planting time was busy, but she had to catch up on laundry today. Jenny’s help was greatly appreciated. Should she cancel knitting circle for the summer? Was Jeb right? Granny massaged the back of her neck. She’d let her girls decide tonight.
Did Jenny need more attention, feeling so left out of her daed’s life? So much change going on a stone’s throw away and maybe she needed to focus her energy on her kinner. She was used to mothering the twins, and even though Roman looked at his daughters as the apple of his eye, his eye was always on his new bride.
Granny quickly said a casting off prayer and put the egg salad, pickled beets and bread on the table. Jeb yawned and stretched his arms over his head before he plunked down in his chair. “Danki. Need something cool for supper. Mighty hot day for the end of May.”
Granny sat down and took his hand to say a silent grace.
“I should have let you fish all day, Love. You’ve been working too hard. But the girls needed help in their garden.”
Jeb pulled his long gray beard. “Jah, it was easier to just sit and fish, but those girls are growing up mighty fast.” He spread egg salad on a slice of homemade bread. “They need our help to adjust.”
“I was thinking the opposite. Maybe get out of the way so Lizzie can be their mamm…”
Jeb eyed her. “You planning on having that knitting circle?”
“Socks. I’m going to bring up socks at the circle tonight. The Baptist church said there’s lots of homeless people right here in America. In the winter they’ll need warm socks…”
Jeb’s head darted up. “Homeless? Where do they live?”
“Janice Jackson said her church goes down to Pittsburgh to feed them. Some live under bridges. Some in cardboard boxes.”
“Jack has it better than them, and he’s a dog. Don’t these people have any family?”
Granny sighed. “Janice said whole families are without a home. I was thinking about scripture. ‘When I was naked you clothed me’…”
Jeb bowed his head. “You’ve done it unto Me.”
“Jah. We don’t know these people, but if the Lord came to us in the form of a homeless person, would we feed him? Clothe him?”
“Deborah, you’re not thinking of going to Pittsburgh and feeding them, are you?”
Granny raised her eyebrows. “Never thought of it, but goot idea. We could have a baking frolic and take the food to the city.”
Jeb groaned loudly.
“Now what’s wrong with that?”
“Why not just have the knitting circle? Isn’t that enough?”
“But you don’t want me to have it. Think I’m too busy.”
Jeb reached for her hand. “If you don’t have the knitting circle, you’ll do something else, and that’s what I love about you. Such a big heart.”
Granny squeezed his hand. “So you don’t mind? Me having the circle?”
“Not at all. I didn’t know there were people living worse off than a dog…I just didn’t know.”
Granny bowed her head. “Jeb, I have a confession to make…”
“This sounds serious…What is it?”
“Well, I would have brought it up over the winter, but you were against my Jane Austen books then, and was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Well, you know how I always went visiting on Thursday afternoons? Suzy picked me up in bad weather?”
“Jah, and it’s a goot thing to visit…”
“Well, I was visiting, along with Sarah Mast, and Millie and Katie Byler.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Well, it was always at Suzy’s…”
Jeb scratched his head and slouched. “Deborah, what you women folk do is none of my business.”
“But I feel deceitful…”
“Why?”
“I learned to dye yarn colors and we always knit. Mittens for kinner in Romania…with needles. Not a loom.”
Jeb pursed his lips. The ticking of the pendulum clock was like the pounding of a drum in Granny’s head. She got up
and started to clear the table. Then she heard that familiar chuckle of her husband. She turned to see tears in his eyes.
“What’s so funny?”
“You are. Honestly, don’t you know Jacob Mast and I knew our wives were always in that yarn shop? Remember, we live in Smicksburg. Everybody knows each other’s business.”
Granny felt the plate in her one hand wobble, so she quickly put it in the sink. “How long have you known?”
“Well, when Jacob didn’t want Sarah to be around Ginny Rowland, he came here and asked me to do the same.”
“But you didn’t?”
“No. I knew Jacob was in the wrong. Anyhow, I trust your judgment. You know when to step back from the English.”
Granny ran over to Jeb and hugged him from the back. “Thank you…Old Man.” She kissed his cheek.
He patted her hands. “Jah, Deborah, I trust you to have that knitting circle with the English here. With old age comes wisdom and you’ll know how to handle the differences.”
She kissed his cheek again. “And you’re wiser than me, being older, jah?”
~*~
Granny heard Jack bark and knew a buggy was making its way down her long driveway. She pulled back the white curtain to see Ella and Ruth in one buggy and Fannie and Melvin in another. Melvin would most likely be spending time visiting with Roman or Jeb. Granny stepped out on the porch. “You girls want to knit out here on the porch until it gets dark?”
“Jah, sure. And admire your roses climbing up the trellises,” Ella said.
Granny embraced each girl before they took a seat on one of the cedar benches. “Hope my roses do well this year.”
Fannie sighed as she collapsed onto a bench. “I am worn out. Gardened all day.”
“Me too,” Ruth said, blushing. “But Luke helped me this year.”
“So goot to hear,” Granny said. “How about you Ella? Did you get your kitchen garden in?”
Ella shook her head. “The twins kept waking up and needed my attention.” She put her knitting loom on her lap and started to knit. “Sure wish Zach didn’t work such long hours for the English. Now he’s being pressured to work Saturdays…maybe even Sundays.”
Smicksburg Tales 1,2 & 3 (Amish Knitting Circle, Amish Friends Knitting Circle & Amish Knit Lit Cirlce ~ Complete Series: 888 pages for Granny Weaver Lovers and 30+ Amish Recipes Page 28
