Sunday, December 29, 2013

Year 3, Day # 107 - Human Reflections

This little boy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw me biking toward him. He got off his bike and walked up to me. We talked a little bit, but then just as I left I heard him say, "So Tiny". 

This incident reminded me of another one that happened thirty-five years ago, while I was traveling in another state, in an Amish community. I was a stranger at a funeral service. 

A boy about this size and age walked up to me. 
He pinched me.
 He stepped on my toes. 
He stuck his tongue out at me.
He made more ugly faces.
The adults totally ignored both of us,
him and me.

I couldn't wait to get out of the house, but more was to come. Our wraps were in the wash house where the Rumspringa boys were standing around putting in time. They watched me put on my bonnet and shawl and my Tingly Boots. They burst out laughing.

My eyes were opened to the realization that little children are a direct reflection of their parents. If they are Amish, they reflect not only their parents but also their community and their church. 

There are exceptions, but this is still a pretty accurate measuring stick.

 

6 comments:

  1. Children are a reflection of their parents. I see it in the Coral Amish community. Some of those scholars need a slaggin......love your blog....ich liebe dich... Van Shteffy Cedar Springs Michigan

    ReplyDelete
  2. My goodness!. I am sure you are able to give some answers to the little kids who approach you and it probably helps more than you realize. I enjoy your sensitive blogs and photos and check in every day. Thanks for your wisdom.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have long felt that some Amish children are rude and disrespectful because that is what they see modeled. Whether it be teachers, the law, their elders, or someone who is "different". I endured several difficult school years where 95% were Amish, and I was not. When my boys went to school, they often mentioned how rude the Amish children were, especially on the bus. I pray that by speaking to these children you can make a positive impact on their perspective. Bless you, Katie!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That story from the past makes me wince. I'm sorry it happened to you!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I did not grow up Amish, but a closed religious-ethnic group called Laestadians. Not really plain, but exclusive in some of the ways of the Amish. I can relate to your stories about being connected and related to many people you meet along the way who have similar roots, though sometimes they are from different sects of the movement. I have noticed that the Laestadian children can be very mean to others. Once I noted a pack of them heckling a little person who was a guest at a wedding. But it could be a black person, or anyone different from their own little world. Later, it became me when I started to follow my own bliss and become my own person and not a cut-out Laestadian. Then my world opened up and became better. And yes, I realize they were echoing what they heard from adults, though the adults were shunning and criticising others for sin, the children cannot discern "sin" as a difference so they select people with physical differences.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, I did a bit of read up on the Laestadians for I had never heard of such a group of people. But it sounds like some Amish groups I have known.

      Delete