Old Order Mennonite Memoirs

The memory capacity of a tyke, just-turned-2, isn't very developed yet. In fact, last fall when Granddaughter Bella was at our house for a time, she never asked about her parents who disappeared to Missouri to attend a wedding.

But that wasn't the case last week, just three months later. Not only did she get a dreamy look in her eyes at times and mention her parents, her pets or her dolls, she also remembered things about the last time she was here, like going to the attic. "Momie, come," she said, as she started up the stairs, willing me to follow her to that charming, toy-filled place.

She r...