Growing Up in Lancaster County (48 page)

R
achel pressed her nose to the window and watched as Mom got into the buggy. Dad handed Hannah to her. Then he went around to the driver’s side and got in, too.

It’s not fair
, Rachel thought as she watched the horse and buggy move down the driveway toward the road.
They should have let me go to town with them
.

She sniffed a couple of times.
They shouldn’t make me stay home and clean house all day just because I forgot about watching Hannah the other day
.

“Es fenschder muss mer nass mache fer es sauwer mache
[One has to wet the window in order to clean it],” Grandpa said when he entered the living room. “Looks to me like you’re putting more smudges on the window with the end of your
naas
[nose].”

Rachel pulled back and stared at the window. Sure enough, there was a smudge where her nose had been. “I was just watching Pap’s buggy head down the road and wishing I could have gone with them,” she said with a sigh.

“You know why you can’t go,” Grandpa said.

She nodded and swallowed.

Grandpa put his hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “It’s never fun to be punished, but that’s how we learn from our mistakes.” He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Besides, a little hard work never hurt anyone.”

“That’s right,” Henry said as he entered the room. “Those who work hard eat hearty!”

Rachel frowned. “I never said anything about eating.”

Henry shrugged and headed for the door. “I’m going over to see my
aldi
[girlfriend], Nancy,” he said, turning to look at Grandpa. “If Mom and Pap get back before I do, tell Mom I won’t be home for supper.”

“I’ll be sure to tell her,” Grandpa said with a nod.

Just then, Jacob entered the room with a wide smile.

“Why are you so happy?” Rachel asked as she squirted some liquid cleaner on the window.

“Orlie got a new scooter the other day, and I’m going over to ride on it.”

“Well, have fun,” Rachel mumbled under her breath. “I sure won’t have any fun here.”

“What was that?” Jacob asked as he moved toward the door.

“Oh nothing.” Rachel wiped the window with the clean cloth and stood back to take a look. She was glad when Jacob went out the door without saying anything else to her.

“You missed a spot,” Grandpa said, pointing to the left side of the window.

Psshheew! Psshheew!
Rachel shot some more cleaner on the window and wiped the cloth over it again. Cleaning the house was boring. No fun at all on a Saturday morning!

Rachel moved away from the window and picked up the dust cloth she’d laid on the coffee table. “Work, work, work!” she grumbled as she wiped the cloth carelessly over the table. “That’s all I’m good for anymore. I never get to do anything fun at all!”

“You’re never too young or too old to be God’s helper,” Grandpa said as he lowered himself into his rocking chair.

“I’m not helping God, Grandpa,” Rachel said. “I’m helping Mom.”

Grandpa reached for his Bible on the small table by his chair. He opened it to a place that had been marked with a long white ribbon. “I mentioned this verse from the
Biewel
[Bible] to you several weeks ago, but I want to read it to you now, so please have a seat,” he said, motioning to the sofa.

Rachel sat down with a weary sigh.

Grandpa picked up his reading glasses from the table and slipped them on. Then he began to read: “‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.’” He smiled. “That’s in Colossians 3:23.”

Rachel sat still for several seconds, staring at the floor and letting the words Grandpa had read sink into her brain. Finally, she looked up at Grandpa and said, “I guess if the work I’m doing is for the Lord, then I’d better get busy.”

Deciding this was a good chance to show that she was grown up, Rachel rose to her feet. Then she bent down and picked up the braided throw rug in front of Pap’s favorite chair and hauled it outside to the porch.

Honk! Honk! Honk!

Rachel dropped the rug onto the porch and stepped into the yard to watch a flock of geese fly over the house in a perfect V formation. She wished she could fly away, too—at least for today.

When the geese disappeared, Rachel stepped back onto the porch, picked up the rug, and shook it well. She would do the best that she could so she would please the Lord.

When the rug was as clean as she could get it, Rachel went back in the house. She left the rug in the hallway then went to the utility room to get a broom.

When Rachel returned to the living room, she started sweeping hard.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Bits of dust flew up and tickled her nose.

They must have tickled Grandpa’s nose, too, for he soon began to sneeze.
Ah-choo! Ah-choo! Ah-choo!
Rachel kept count. Grandpa sneezed eight times in all.

She giggled and giggled and giggled some more. Grandpa’s sneezes sounded so funny, she couldn’t help but giggle.

When Grandpa finally quit sneezing, he started laughing, too. “All that dust you were sweeping must have gotten to me, Rachel.”

Rachel’s smile faded. “I’m sorry about that, Grandpa. I didn’t mean to make you sneeze.”

“It’s okay. The floor needed to be cleaned.” Grandpa smiled. “Now I’m going to give you an object lesson.”

“What’s that?” Rachel asked.

He motioned to one corner of the room. “Look over there. Do you see any dust in the air?”

“No,” Rachel said with a shake of her head.

Grandpa pointed toward the window. “Now look at the sunlight coming through the window glass. What do you see there?”

“I see a lot of dust particles where the sun’s shining through.”

Grandpa nodded. “It’s just like God’s Word.”

Rachel tipped her head. “What do you mean?”

“When the light of His Word shines on us, it reveals the sin in our lives.”

“Hmm…” Rachel stared at the dust particles as she thought about this.

“When we have sin in our lives, we have to sweep it away by asking God to forgive us.”

Rachel nodded and a lump formed in her throat. She knew it was a sin whenever she disobeyed her parents or teacher. She bowed her head and closed her eyes.
Dear God, forgive my sins and help me to do better from now on
.

When she opened her eyes, she smiled at Grandpa and said, “I think I’ll clean the kitchen and bathroom next. Then I’ll head upstairs and clean my bedroom.”

Grandpa smiled. “That’s a good idea, Rachel. I’m pleased to see you working so hard today, and I’m sure that God is, too.”

Rachel grabbed the broom and skipped out of the room.

By noon, Rachel was hot, tired, and hungry. She’d just finished scrubbing the bathroom floor, and her back had begun to ache. She straightened up and rubbed at the kinks in her back. She was so tired of cleaning. She just wanted to go upstairs, lie down on her bed, and read a good book.

Her stomach rumbled noisily, reminding her that she needed to prepare lunch for Grandpa and herself. Grandpa was probably feeling hungry, too.

“I’m going into the kitchen to fix us something to eat,” she called as she passed the living room on her way to the kitchen.

No response.

Rachel poked her head into the living room. Grandpa’s head leaned against the back of the rocking chair. His eyes were closed, and his mouth hung slightly open. Several loud snores escaped his lips.

Rachel figured he would probably sleep for a while, so she headed upstairs to rest a few minutes before starting lunch. After she ate, she would clean her room.

When she entered her bedroom, she froze. Jacob’s big shaggy mutt was on her bed, sitting in the middle of her rumpled sheets. She’d forgotten to make her bed this morning.

“I have no idea how you got in here,” she said, shaking her finger at Buddy, “but you’re not taking a nap on my
bett
[bed]!”

She waved her hands, but Buddy didn’t budge. He just sat staring at Rachel as if to say,
I’m staying here, and you can’t make me move
.

Rachel gritted her teeth. “Get off my bett, you hairy beast!” She hoped if she let him know she meant business, he might obey her for a change.

Woof! Woof!
Buddy lunged for Rachel and licked her arm with his big wet tongue. Then he slid off the bed, knocking the quilt on the floor and pulling the sheets, which had somehow gotten wrapped around his body.

Rachel screamed and grabbed one end of the sheet as Buddy tore out of the room. She hung on for dear life as the troublesome mutt ran down the stairs, dragging her and the sheet behind him.

“Absatz! Stop, right now!” Rachel hollered. “You’re making it hard for me to act grown up!”

Thump! Thump! Thump! Rachel thumped and
bumped her way down the stairs, still clinging to the sheet.

When Buddy reached the bottom of the stairs, he plodded into the living room, thumping and bumping everything in sight. Then he raced into the kitchen, barking and growling all the way!

Thud!
One of the chairs at the table fell over.
Thunk! Thunk!
Buddy slammed into the table, knocking the bowl of sugar over and sending the napkins sailing through the air.

“Bad dog!” Rachel hollered. “Stop where you are, right now!”

Woof! Woof!
Buddy tore out of the kitchen and down the hall, pulling Rachel along on her backside.

When they got to the end of the hall, he turned and raced back again.

“Let go of my sheet, you crazy critter!” Rachel hollered.

“What’s all this ruckus about?” Grandpa asked, stepping out of the living room.

Woof! Woof!
Buddy whipped past Grandpa at lightning speed. Rachel hung on for all she was worth. No flea-bitten mutt was going to get the best of her! She would get that sheet back no matter what!

“
Was in der welt
[What in all the world]
?
” Mom asked as she entered the house. Pap was right behind her, holding Hannah.

Woof! Woof!
Buddy raced out the open door, dragging Rachel behind him.
Rip!
—the sheet came loose from Buddy’s body, leaving a big tear in one end.

Rachel gasped as she fell on the ground. “No! No! No! You are nothing but a big bag of trouble, Buddy!”

Buddy slunk off toward his doghouse with his tail between his legs.

“Out of sight, out of mind,” Rachel mumbled as she picked herself up and brushed off her dress.

Mom rushed out of the house, stepped up to Rachel, and frowned. “Rachel Yoder, I left you home to clean the house. I sure didn’t expect to come home and find you playing with Jacob’s dog!”

Rachel shook her head. “I wasn’t playing with Buddy. That big hairy beast got up on my bed, and then—”

“You know you’re not allowed to have any pets on your bed,” Mom said. “How many times have I told you that?”

Rachel’s chin trembled as she struggled not to cry. “Many times, but—”

“You’re never going to grow up if you don’t learn to be more responsible,” Pap said when he joined them on the lawn. “You need to pay closer attention to what you’re doing.”

Determined not to give in to her tears, Rachel quickly explained everything that had happened. “If anything’s my fault, it’s probably that I left the door open for too long when I was outside shaking the rug.”

“She’s right, Miriam,” Grandpa said, stepping outside. “Rachel worked real hard today. I’m sure she didn’t let Jacob’s
hund
[dog] in the house on purpose.”

Rachel nodded. “No, I sure didn’t. I just wanted to do a good job of cleaning the house.”

Mom looked as if she might say something more on the subject. Instead, she patted Rachel’s shoulder and said, “We left town earlier than we’d planned and haven’t eaten yet. Why don’t the two of us go into the house and see about making some lunch?”

Rachel nodded and followed Mom inside. This had not been a good day. It had been a day of total chaos! She hoped tomorrow would be better.

T
wo whole weeks had passed since Rachel had gone fishing when she was supposed to watch Hannah for Mom. She was glad her two weeks of not going anywhere and doing extra chores were finally over. Since today was Saturday and there was no school, Rachel looked forward to doing something fun. She’d wanted to help in the greenhouse this morning, but last night Grandpa had said he didn’t have anything for her to do there right now.

Rachel put both elbows on the kitchen counter as she stared out the window.

Maybe I’ll go to the barn and see if my cats are there, she thought. Or I could write Mary a letter on the stationery I made with pressed flowers. Jah, that’s what I’ll do. She’d probably like to hear about my day of total chaos and how Buddy ruined the sheet on my bed
.

As Rachel continued to gaze out the window, she reached across the cupboard to grab a pen from the basket of writing supplies.
Squish!
She felt something gooey and sticky on her elbow.

“Ach no!” Rachel groaned. “Now look what I’ve done!” She had put her elbow in the apple pie Mom had made before she’d left for Esther’s. At least this time Mom had taken Hannah with her, which meant Rachel had plenty of time to make a new pie before Mom got home.