Old Order Mennonite Memoirs

Time seemed to stand still as I stood inside the screened door of our front porch. Having recognized the call from the bluebird parents for their fledglings to try their wings for the first time, I had turned from my duties to watch and wait for a rare nature show. In fact, I never saw three bluebirds take turns to fly from the birdhouse on the grape arbor. As the crickets sang and gentle breezes touched me, I let the golden moment sink into my heart before it sped by on summer wings.

But if it seemed like God was saying, "I love you" in that little slot of time in my life, than so much more on Thursday forenoon along Furry Drive where I sat beside my husband with other guests in orderly rows under a tent. Even though there were so many of us, we were respectfully quiet, watching, waiting and listening. Gentle cricket songs came from the surrounding natural habitat and even the breezes seemed to wait with bated breath as Nephew Joel Leid and his bride stood just on the "inside," like the baby bluebirds, ready to fly away from the only home they ever knew. I soaked up the tranquility, hallowed with the words of God from the ministers who spoke and felt the washing of my soul. Saturated with thankfulness I knelt on the green grass with all the other believers after witnessing an ancient but new ceremony of a love that binds till death would part.

And since we are still on this side of the deep rolling tide, we rose to move on. At home we had cows to care for and peaches to can. For my brother Kenneth and his wife Grace, a new baby was born deep in the night. Greeted by four sisters and a brother, Krystal Dawn is also the 45th grandchild for Noah and Esther Newswanger. For my dad Erwin W. Zimmerman, she is the 56th grandchild.

Friday, Aug. 21, was also the night my alarm clock batteries chose to die, so I slept on. Bluebird warbles beckoned me to wakefulness, to resume preparation for the reception. Check, check, my husband and I went with our to-do list every day last week until evening darkness bade us come in. The dusky Saturday evening rushed me as I arranged some gladiolus and aster bouquets.

Then the day was here. My alarm clock was feeling chipper with its new batteries, unlike me. At the bottom of the stairs I thought I had only one more step but I actually had two. It was a "let-down" feeling that literally let me down. I rubbed my hurting back where it had collided with furniture and rose to begin my day again. When I came to pour a cup of coffee, it was only hot water because I had forgotten to put coffee in the basket.

But the rest of my day went better. I fried several beef roasts with butter, salt and pepper and placed them all in a big enamel roast pan for the oven. The scrubbed red potatoes and the noodles were cooked a bit to wait in sleeping bags till we came home from church. I was delighted that granddaughter Lyla, age 3, who rode with us to church, wanted to sit beside me during services.

When we arrived home, I made gravy and cooked beans that were fresh from my garden. The browned butter was for the noodles and potatoes. Strawberry jelly and butter went with the sweet potato dinner rolls and the cheese and pretzels complimented the salad. The lettuce came from my garden, as did the tomatoes, carrots, cukes and broccoli. Hopefully this time no one found a Japanese beetle hiding among the greenery, like a guest did once before at my table. Besides ice cream, layered angel food cake trifle was my dessert, one with the cherries we picked in June and the other with fresh peaches from Bridenbaugh Orchards.

I was thankful for everyone that helped me with all the work that goes with serving dinner to 50 guests. The humid heat of the day increased in the afternoon especially for those who played tennis or badminton but I was ready with coolers of clear, cold water and a lemon-orange drink.

A little shower chased our guests one time and at my sister's home in Fredericksburg, a bigger shower interfered with their serving of supper to the youth group. Since our nest is empty, I have been negligent in writing the news for them, but I learned that there have been four new couples in so many weeks just recently. The Saturday evening singing was held along Millerstown Road.