Four memories of my Amish grandparents

My mother grew up Amish but left the church when she was a young woman. My mom may have chosen a different direction for her life, but she still loved her parents and when she got married and had kids, she would occasionally take my brothers and me to visit them.

My grandparents wore plain clothes, lived in a simple manner, and had a large family. They were older and moved around a lot in my youth, but no matter where they moved, four things always stuck out about them:

–Grandfather clock. They had a huge ornate grandfather clock that stood about 6 to 7 feet tall, took up a prominent spot in the house, and would chime on every hour. I never asked, but I always suspected that my grandfather built it himself. I grew up thinking that there was something magical about the clock (I suspect it was the chime) and have been fascinated with clocks ever since.

–The food. My grandmother or one of my aunts would always have cookies; whoopie pies, two mound-shaped pieces of chocolate cake, with a sweet, creamy filling; or Amish moon pies, a half-moon shaped crust with dried apple, warming on a nearby table. My mom would always tell us to wait until after lunch or dinner before diving into the baked goods. The Amish are as strict as they come — well actually, they’re stricter, but when my grandfather brought us in from feeding the horses or helping with some chore out in the barn, my grandmother never had any qualms about sneaking us a treat or two. Rules were rules, but rules about dessert were meant to be broken.

–Oil lamps. Amish don’t believe in modern conveniences like electricity, so they would have small oil lamps throughout the house. As soon as the sun would start to set or dark clouds would roll in, my grandmother or aunt would go from room to room, turning on the lamps. They lit up the house, but they let off a hazy glow. I remember seeing my grandmother through the hazy glare and being grateful for her, but glad that we had a simple thing like electricity back in my bedroom back home.

–A grandparent’s love. My mother never joined the Amish church so the family didn’t have to “shun” her. However, I’m sure there were some hurt feelings, but my grandparents never took out any anger or frustration on us. They didn’t always understand my life or my interest in sports or reading for example, but they loved me and always wanted their hug goodbye when it came time to leave.

What’s a few things that you remember about your grandparents or their home?