the Amish are coming

the Amish people from down the road stopped by this weekend. they asked their what is becoming an annual fall question. did we mind if they came to pick the apples and pears from our trees. my answer was what it has been in the past. "go right ahead"

i am very conflicted in my feelings for the Amish people. not to say they ever mean harm to anyone. they're quiet and quaint. and i LOVE the sound of their horse and buggies, (but not to be stuck behind them when i'm running late) esp on a Sunday when one of them is having a shindig. they go down the road in front in the morning, and straggle out all day. it always amazes me how many there can be some weekends. we chuckle at the guy who leaves last, after dark with the lanterns on the front.

the first year they asked about the trees, i figured they would get maybe 20 bushels. i only have like 8 trees a couple are half dead. and i didn't care if they took them. one less thing i have to avoid with the lawnmower. our trees are old and the fruit is small, occasionally i'll grab a couple pears if they look good. but usually they fall and are critter food for winter.

was i wrong....they FILLED 2 entire flat buggies. i had no idea how much was on these trees. i never felt like such a lazy spoiled person in my life. one afternoon of work and they had gotten enough fruit to last their family most of the winter. which is where my complex feelings come into play. are they trying to be smug?

i mean really, do they look down on us, laugh at us, or are they truly as grateful as they appear. do they honestly think of us as their neighbors? or is it all a scam? do they intend to make us feel lazy and spoiled, or are they as pure as the image appears.

i know alot of the Amish in some parts of the country really milk it. like they can't have a phone in the house, but they put one in a shed in the yard. and some are loaded. some have more money than they could spend in a lifetime. but the people around here are as true to the beliefs as is possible in todays world, and they work hard. but i work hard too , so why do i feel like they view me as "lesser" than they are, simply because i have conveniences?

i know a family who left the Amish just recently. one day i am going to get the nerve up to ask. until then i'll smile and wave, and wonder.