The Rain Came

It was supposed to rain, and it certainly looked like it was about to rain any minute, and we remained poised on the brink of rain for most of the day. Mattie called this morning and wondered if I could take her to the bank and to Lowe's. They hold church services in their homes, alternating, between members homes. They hadn't hosted a church service since the baby was born, and are just now getting back to it. Casting a critical eye around her home, she decided that the floors needed to be finished. Levi was very particular about the brand. It needed to be water-based. It needed to be satin finish, since the high gloss finishes show the scratches too easily. 

She asked if I were busy. I said, "Just doing laundry." She was upset that she was taking me from that. I didn't bother to explain that I just throw my laundry in the washer, and it takes care of business all by itself. I can do my laundry while running an Amish woman to the bank. It does not require me to stand there to haul heavy dripping clothes from a wringer washer, rinse the clothes, and then run them through a wringer. 

I had something for the children. Ever see one of these? It's called a ROKR Vitascope. It is a wooden model of a projector and it has gears inside. When you crank it, the gears power a little light and the film clicks through and projects on the walls. It is a kit that sells in the $35-60 range. I got this at the Goodwill in an unopened, polywrapped box for a mere $3.99. I was hoping that William would be interested. He was not in the least bit interested. It is not Lego. 

I made up my mind to take it up to Mattie's older children, but I learned a valuable lesson. The hoarder's house had an antique doll carriage.  It was something that I meant to hang on to, but let's be real. We're downsizing. What am I going to do with this? Why do I even need it? So I took it up to give the youngest girls. Oh. You should have seen their eyes light up! They were thrilled, and immediately scooted off to grab their babies and wheel them around the porch. Levi was coming up from the sawmill, and I saw him and Mattie exchange a look. 

Aghast, I said, "Oh no! Is this not allowed? And Levi said, "Well...it's pretty fancy. We don't usually have things like that." I said, "well, I can turn right around and put this back in the trunk." I felt horrible. Druscilla, Sarah and Elizabeth stood stock still staring anxiously at their father. Levi said, "Well..." in a considering way and then thought perhaps the girls could play with it for a while until he thought it through. 

I was not about to make that mistake again, so I took the vitascope into the house and showed it to Mattie. I set it up on the bureau in the livingroom and said, "You and Levi can discuss it. If you think it is the wrong thing, it's all wood. Just throw the whole thing in the kitchen stove. 

The youngest girls were washing dishes. Katie was sweeping the kitchen floor. I thought that I had been very discreet. But...it wasn't long and the boys came up from the mill. They were building a hunting shanty and stopped for a glass of cold water and a snack. There was a flurry of german chatter between the children, and they ran to the bureau to see what I'd brought. 

So much for discretion. By the time we got back from our short run, the box had disappeared. Hopefully, not before it had been given the parental seal of approval. 

We had a nice visit on the porch listening to the thunder rattle around the mountains. Little David was bright eyed and alert. The boys went down to bring up their work horse. The horse pulled the finished shanty out of the mill as Andy led him. Ruben and Amos rode inside. I said, 'They must be steering it." which gave them all a good laugh. The girls sat all in a row with their wet hair, waiting for their turns to have their hair braided. 

The wind picked up. The thunder echoed. 

Finally, finally, the rain came.