Trampolines & Amish Wedding Receptions

I should be heading to bed as it's almost 11:00 pm but....we were outside until almost 10:00. It's been a busy day - with both routine and new experiences. This morning a friend from church dropped off her son Brent - same age as my Son2 - for the day so she could go to work. All 3 boys played together very well for most of the day - alternated between being inside watching TV or doing PS2 or outside - riding scooters, rollerblades, playing with the water hoses or attempting to set up the new trampoline (that's been in the box in the barn for over a year now). I was really proud of all three boys - they got the parts out, sorted and lined up in the right order. They even got them started put together - until they were physically not strong enough to go any further. I wasn't either - so they willingly put everything back in the barn. In the meantime I worked on getting the mowing done on our two acres. I also knew I needed to get the gift wrapped and card made for the Amish wedding reception I was attending this evening. When Brent's dad came to pick him up he helped get the frame for the trampoline together....using a rubber mallet and me standing on the other end of whatever piece he was working on - holding it together with a log between my belly/hip and the frame. I simply can't describe how it looked.

By 5:15 I was still outside - gift not wrapped, card not made, still in sweaty, dirty shorts and t-shirt - and needing to be at the reception dinner by 6:00 pm! Quick shower, change - get card and gift together - head to car. Son 2 accidentally drops the gift and it shatters - still wrapped. So I head off with it in the car - knowing I can't deliver it. It was rather overwhelming to pull into this Amish home - filled with both Amish and "English" that I didn't know. I was made to feel very welcome and well fed. Probably my most enjoyable part of the evening was beginning to get to know just a few of the children that were there - trying to figure out who belonged to who and getting to play with a couple of babies.

Then home to spray the fruit trees, finish putting up the trampoline with another friend's help and finally inside to clean up (again). There's dishes to be done yet tonight and laundry that should be cared for. Yikes - a woman's work seems never to be done.