For the Amish people their top priorities are faith, farm, and family. The old order and new order have strict rules that are different from community to community. They do not use electricity, drive vehicles, or even have phones in their homes. The Amish still use horse and buggies for transportation or hire someone to drive them. The Amish live more plain simple lives and still do things like their forefathers. They also dress very plain without buttons; some communities can only wear black or white dresses while others allow muted colors. By restricting access to television, radios, and phones the Amish are able to keep the modern world from intruding on their lives.
The Amish lifestyle is very interesting to me. The Amish thrived during the last year while others worlds were turned upside down. They were not worried about toilet paper or food during the pandemic because they know how to survive without the modern conveniences. The Amish have a strong sense of community spirit, and often come to help out those in need. Much of society could learn so much about family values from the Amish. Though the Amish are very private people.
The home we are purchasing from an Amish family does not have plumbing, it does not have electricity, and is in such a peaceful place. It does however have an outhouse. When I was there viewing the property, I could just feel the calmness in the community. People were not in a rush to get somewhere; they were genuinely nice. I did not come in contact with one unhappy person. It was refreshing to watch the horse and buggies go by loaded with 2-3 Amish men talking to each other, not with cellphones in their faces.
We do plan on modernizing the home with electricity, along with indoor bathrooms and internet but we look forward to a simpler life style and enjoying time with each other. As I observed some of the tasks the young woman was doing while we were touring the house it amazed me. They only had a few outfits each. They did not use a closet so the items they had were out and visible. The house had minimal furniture and was not cluttered in any way. The couple had a gas-powered refrigerator and a gas-powered washing machine. Right out the front door she had a wood heated water tank that she used to heat all their water for laundry, cleaning, and bathing. Inside she had a small stock tank that they used for bathing. When the power goes out, I feel like I am dying without AC and worrying about our food storage. Now, I will say that I will continue using air conditioning but I will live a simpler less cluttered life when we do finally get to move there. I do think that when you are not accustomed to using it like the Amish then they don’t really know what they are missing. I think their beliefs and faith are amazing. I love how outside influences do not change them.
The simple things in life are often the most important. This philosophy is what I hope to accomplish as I envision the next step …….
Pink Squirrel Farmstead 