My Maem

My Maem (Maem=Mom) was a tender hearted person. She smiled, and made people feel welcome, and at ease. She especially loved children, and kept a house full at all times. ☺️ She was the one that offered to babysit whenever the need arose. Some kids  in the community called her Mommy. (Mommy=grandma) I remember how she rocked her grand babies, and sang to them in German.  I'm  #13 of her #14 kids  so I got to witness the grandma version of her more than my older siblings did. She was 41 when I was born.
She would tell us the story of how her maem died when she was only 10, (Mom was #9 of 18 kids.)
 She'd often shed a few tears while telling us the story. Other times she would giggle until she cried while telling us funny stories of her childhood. Funny or sad, I never got tired of hearing the same stories over and over.

She was never shy, and embarrassed us so very much, especially whenever we were around English people. (English=non Amish) Sometimes she'd peddle her produce and baked goods through subdivided neighborhoods in her buggy while yelling out "Green beans for sale!" Or "y'all want any bread!" That last phrase got taken advantage of sometimes when people would say "sure!"  take a loaf, and leave, without paying. 😜 As a teen I was sure I was gonna die of embarrassment before our peddling endeavors would end. Mostly she would have a roadside stand, and only delivered/peddled when she had leftovers. She also made a lot of quilts to sell. Looking back I see  what a survivor she was, and I see now why English people felt welcome at our house. She invited them in, let them eat with us, and had several best friends that were English.

I also remember the many buggy rides to mommy Gingerich's house with Maem. Mommy was her stepmom, and it was probably the most boring place to go as a child. Mommy was nearly deaf , had no teeth, and didn't want us to make any noise, so we'd sit as still as mice until we were dismissed to go play with our cousins that lived in the big house next to the Doddy house. (A Doddy (=grandpa) house was usually built by one of the married children's homes  so they could take care of the elderly parents) Maem loved her and always said we'd regret it if we wouldn't go see her because we wouldn't always have her.
 Mommy had dentures, but never bothered to wear them, she said they were a nuisance, and last I heard she had thrown them out in the field. 😂 That's what Aunt Ida said.



It's amazing to me now to realize that I was  never told "I love you" or was hugged or shown affection by my parents, yet I felt loved and cared for .  My parents weren't perfect, and made many mistakes, but they did their best and followed what they had been taught for generations.

When I think of mama, I think of hard work, love, and a cheerful attitude.
Maem left us in February of 2011 after a year long suffering from complications of diabetes. She was 70 years old, had been married to dad for 50 years. She had 14 children and 120 grandchildren. I miss her always.
She never wasted anything!
At her funeral I ate molasses cookies that she had baked while a wheelchair was her only way of getting around. She never let anything stop her.  She sang her favorite German songs while on her deathbed a few hours before her passing. ❤️❤️