At least a few members of the Fisher family have decided that we should become Old Order Mennonite. You see, our next-door neighbors held a "singing" tonight for the young people of their Old Order Mennonite church (the young people's group has 60+ people in it); and the boys were so impressed by it (at least, by the glimpses of it that we saw across the lawn--not that we were peeking or anything) that they thought we might do well to become them.
It really was quite a sight to see--and hear. I felt like I had stepped back in time, maybe to the days of Almanzo Wilder and Laura Ingalls as they drove across the prairie in a buggy to singing school. These are some of the things that stood out to me about this evening...
~ seeing a row of buggies tied to the hitching rack by our neighbor's machine shop,
~ watching the young ladies cluster together in their pretty dresses,
~ watching the young men stride energetically down the hill toward the house,
~ hearing loud bursts of laughter occasionally ring out from across the lane,
~ sitting on our swing with all my children around me, with a pint of frozen blueberries to have as a snack as we listened to the singing begin,
~ watching Jeff and Jed run across the lawn together,
~ seeing the young people pour forth from the house after the first hour of singing was over (they sing for an hour, then have a break for half an hour, then sing for another hour),
~ going back outside after my kids were in bed so I could hear the music again,
~ feeling my heart soar as I heard songs like "Love Lifted Me" and "Send the Light" and "In the Sweet By and By" roll through the night air in rich harmony,
~ going inside to see if anyone was still awake and wanted to come outside with me--David was, and he was glad to get up and come with me,
~ sitting down on the front porch steps with one of my treasured sons,
~ talking to him in whispers so we could still hear the glorious music,
~ smiling to myself as I heard the Old Order accent come through loud and clear in their singing.
~ seeing various groups of people coming and going through the back door of my neighbor, illuminated by an outdoor light above their picnic table,
~ watching an amazing display of lightning in the distance, some of which was blurred by clouds but some of which we could see clearly,
~ noticing that the sky to the north was covered with clouds, but directly overhead there was nothing obscuring the stars, and they shone beautifully,
~ looking around our neighborhood, seeing lights in the windows of the various houses, and thanking God for the joy of living right here in this spot,
~ giving David a big hug, then sending him back inside to go to bed,
~ hearing horses in the darkness,
~ watching the red lights of buggies begin to make their way toward their respective homes,
~ noticing the beauty of the weeds (yes, weeds) that grow profusely in our front flowerbed as the light from our floodlight shone on their wispy blossoms, especially when the wind picked up in intensity (we were under a tornado watch, after all) and the blossoms floated through the air,
~ seeing a bat swoop down, hopefully to consume a pesky bug (or two or a thousand) ,
~ looking across the yard to see a line of young men and a line of young women, and imagining the conversations and thoughts that might be taking place as they (some of them) pair up for the ride home (ah, young love!) ,
~ looking up to see that enough clouds had rolled in to obliterate all the stars I could see a short while before,
~ peeking out our window at 12:15 a.m. and seeing some people still standing around my neighbor's back door!
~ watching the young ladies cluster together in their pretty dresses,
~ watching the young men stride energetically down the hill toward the house,
~ hearing loud bursts of laughter occasionally ring out from across the lane,
~ sitting on our swing with all my children around me, with a pint of frozen blueberries to have as a snack as we listened to the singing begin,
~ watching Jeff and Jed run across the lawn together,
~ seeing the young people pour forth from the house after the first hour of singing was over (they sing for an hour, then have a break for half an hour, then sing for another hour),
~ going back outside after my kids were in bed so I could hear the music again,
~ feeling my heart soar as I heard songs like "Love Lifted Me" and "Send the Light" and "In the Sweet By and By" roll through the night air in rich harmony,
~ going inside to see if anyone was still awake and wanted to come outside with me--David was, and he was glad to get up and come with me,
~ sitting down on the front porch steps with one of my treasured sons,
~ talking to him in whispers so we could still hear the glorious music,
~ smiling to myself as I heard the Old Order accent come through loud and clear in their singing.
~ seeing various groups of people coming and going through the back door of my neighbor, illuminated by an outdoor light above their picnic table,
~ watching an amazing display of lightning in the distance, some of which was blurred by clouds but some of which we could see clearly,
~ noticing that the sky to the north was covered with clouds, but directly overhead there was nothing obscuring the stars, and they shone beautifully,
~ looking around our neighborhood, seeing lights in the windows of the various houses, and thanking God for the joy of living right here in this spot,
~ giving David a big hug, then sending him back inside to go to bed,
~ hearing horses in the darkness,
~ watching the red lights of buggies begin to make their way toward their respective homes,
~ noticing the beauty of the weeds (yes, weeds) that grow profusely in our front flowerbed as the light from our floodlight shone on their wispy blossoms, especially when the wind picked up in intensity (we were under a tornado watch, after all) and the blossoms floated through the air,
~ seeing a bat swoop down, hopefully to consume a pesky bug (or two or a thousand) ,
~ looking across the yard to see a line of young men and a line of young women, and imagining the conversations and thoughts that might be taking place as they (some of them) pair up for the ride home (ah, young love!) ,
~ looking up to see that enough clouds had rolled in to obliterate all the stars I could see a short while before,
~ peeking out our window at 12:15 a.m. and seeing some people still standing around my neighbor's back door!
I know it's a lot of work to host a singing like this, and we've watched our neighbors be extra busy during this past week of preparation and have enjoyed hearing about all the steps of getting ready. I wouldn't want Douglas and Wilma to feel any pressure to host another one anytime soon, but at the same time...
...I CAN HARDLY WAIT UNTIL THEY DO IT AGAIN!!
Lovely description! You are fortunate to live next door. We don't live far from Dayton, maybe 10 miles. Enjoyed this.
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