CONFESSION TIME! I began writing Amish fiction just about one year ago. 
Since that time, I’ve bought —
- a larger tv (thought the Cowboys were going to go a bit farther in the playoffs last season . . . and our old one was ANCIENT and used when we bought it)
- a new used car (that sounds funny – it’s new to us, and the car I had reached 120,000 miles)
- Sirius radio for one car (we live in the middle of nowhere with quite spotty radio reception)
- a new desktop computer, because I couldn’t feel my right arm anymore. I think that might have been due to the fact that I was typing on a laptop all the time. Hmmm. Anyway, I had written 3 books in less than a year, but the arm thing. Yeah that was a problem, as was the twitch in my eye.
- a Garmin. I’ve scheduled 15 book signings in the next 3 months. Remember the part about my living in the middle of nowhere? Yeah. I’d rather not be lost on my way to those book signings.
So WHY am I telling you this? It seems to me that while I’m immersing myself in Amish culture, part of my brain–and pocketbook–is headed the opposite direction. Why?
One of the things I so adore about the Amish is their simplicity, their focus on the natural things in life. So what is going on? I could open an electronics store in my driveway.
To be fair though, I have started walking more. (No, I don’t carry my Garmin when I walk – but thanks for asking.) I also have started cross-stitching again. And I’ve gone back to making a little time each afternoon to spend in the garden. Perhaps that’s part of the beauty of reading and writing Amish fiction. I don’t know if I can switch my life for theirs. (Though seriously, I’m going to stop buying now. I’m done.) What I do know is that I’m more aware each time I make a choice that is removed from nature. Does that make sense? And I’m intensely aware how I spend my time.
When we read, whatever we read, if we take something away from it – then there’s value in that. I’ve found value in reading and writing about the Amish. Now I need to go outside and work in my garden.
V~
Vannetta Chapman 