Amish Country~

Paw Paw, Andy, Alec and Austin

Just home from Shipshewana Indiana. AKA, Amish country. The simple life.

I was surprised to hear mom and dad wanted to go away for the holiday weekend with us. Our little Harless unit are the type of families they make sitcoms out of. Individually our personalities are so extreme and blended together we are a something you can stand back and watch with popcorn, no problem. I don't know that mom and dad thought that decision  all the way through. They would soon be hijacked to not only staying the weekend with us driving together but also sleeping in the same hotel room. (Their request)!

Austin and I..No matter what I love that boy!

I really enjoy going away with mom and dad but I always feel bad because my oldest son, as cute as he is, can be quite a handful. Austin is going through the "punk", "I am cooler than you", "You don't know nothing" stage.  Because I have a few character defects myself, ones that are not compatible with Austins, we are quite the show. I try to not let him ruffle my feathers but he plucks them. I try to let things roll off my back but he throws things at my back, I even try to let him not get the best of me, but he brings out the worst. How can a 12 year old out smart a 37 year old...One never knows.

We arrived right before a pretty intense storm. We roll into The Farmstead Hotel and check in at our  room. We were running late so we quickly left to go get dinner and go shopping. The clouds coming in looked pretty fierce. Most of the shopping was going to have to wait until Monday because everything closed about 5pm.
We put our name in at the Bluegate Restaurant, home of the famous peanut butter spread. Peanut butter, marshmallow cream,  Karo syrup and just a perfect spread of Yum!

Now as we had sat down to eat the storm was upon us with vengeance. You could see the lightning through the cracks of the windows and the lights kept coming in and out. Alec quit eating and was in tears. Austin barely missed a bite and Alec looked like he was going to loose his dinner. Then the power goes out all together. Alec was on his dads lap with tears erupting from his eyes. The neighboring customers all had sympathetic looks and were whispering many "Awes". Alec, through his tear stained cheeks just kept saying "Daddy, can we go.". It was enough to break your heart. Those long eye lashes saturated with tears and his little body visibly shaking. The lights were off for about 5 minutes and as soon as the generators got them back up we had the credit card waiting.

By the time we got outside the storm had relaxed a bit but the lightning was in hysterics. It looked to be about all the light the town had left. The Hotel was without power and it seemed there were people in more trouble than we were as we listened to the fire trucks continuously pass.
Without power meant a few things, No phone charger, No air, no lighting,and a big one, NO SNORING machine for dad!! Or better yet for us!! This could actually be a really long night.

The Breathing Machine..Snore preventative!!

Dad and Mom

The Harless Family

Since there was not much to do, we resigned to the fact we might as well go to bed. Mom and I were told that dad could always sleep in the lobby if his breathing got bad and he could keep the old man with the oxygen machine company! Mom thought if dad got bad she would just kick him out to the couch, right outside our room! Poor dad was going to get the beating of his life from mom.Every time he snores she would punch him. I actually felt really bad for him. But God spared his life from being beaten to death and turned the lights on about 3 am.

Yup..Thats POO..When running watch where your going!!

We really had a great time. Such a simple life the Amish have. Andy and I got to get a couple good runs in. There are a lot of hills in that area of Indiana. You hardly notice the hills because the canvas surrounding you is so majestic. On our run after the storm Andy and I saw a lot of trees down and yard contents out of place. But we also saw farms on rolling hills with horses and farm animals grazing in the fields. We enjoyed the clapping of hooves passing you, attached to Amish buggies, filled with families coming home from church. It was so serene. To watch the little kids in their overalls and dresses stop their play to smile and wave at you as you passed was such a gentle reminder of love and happiness.

As the weekend came to a close I left there with a couple thoughts about myself.
There are a few things I am going to work harder on, being more gentle with my boys. I answer to fast and to abrupt. I want to try and be more patient with them. I know that I need to be slow to respond.

"Ye know this , my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:" James 1:19

AMISH RUN:

SUNDAY:

Distance-7:11

Time-1:02:18

Pace-8:45

First two miles alone last 5 ran with Andy~

MONDAY:

Distance-5miles

Time-42

Pace-8:10

Ran alone. Went out early before everyone woke. Beautiful crisp morning.

Anita