Moving Day

     John, David, and I watched as a semi-trailer was being backed up in front of our house. Mom was hurriedly packing the last few boxes of things. She gave a box to us and told us it's time to pack all our toys.

     We carefully packed everything, and Mom taped the box shut and then lets us write "TOYS" on it. Before long the few remaining Amish families in the community came to help us load all our belongings. Cousin Emma and I watched from the living room window as the men carried all the furniture out followed by the boxes and finally our heavy Pioneer Maid cook stove. Once all the household things were on the trailer they hitched several Belgian work horses to a hay wagon and backed it up to the shop and lifted all the woodworking machinery on it and then drove over to the trailer where they unloaded it unto the trailer. After that they pulled our buggies over to the trailer and with everyone helping they lifted them up and maneuvered them inside. Finally they stacked in the hay and our pile of firewood, and shut the door.

     Once there was nothing more to watch we looked around the house. It looked forlorn and sad. The emptiness nearly made me shiver. Uncle Alvin's were waiting in their buggy in front of the house so we tied Jim behind the buggy and Mom and we children climbed inside. Daddy was going to walk and lead our cow Jenny. For once no one had much to say as we drove away. I looked out the back window and saw Daddy standing in the middle of the road looking at our property and the buildings they had built with dreams of raising their family there.

     Alvin's horse kept on trotting and soon I couldn't see Daddy anymore. We arrived at Alvin's and Mom helped Lydia make supper. It was dark before Daddy finally came. We ate supper and went to bed. Cousin Emma gave her stuffed bunny to me to sleep with, but it felt lumpy and all I wanted was my own bed, in our own house with everything the way it was supposed to be.