Rumspringa pg. 34-59

The chapter is called "A Glory Old Time." It starts out with a short story about a girl and her family. They are going shoe shopping, and she has to manage all of her younger siblings. She is excited to enter Rumspringa, so she can get a job and go out and not have to be a second mom.

The next part is about Johnny Y. He begins by describing his family. As you read his description, you can see the differences between our societies. Johnny has job and is comfortable with his co-workers. He goes hunting for fun and lives with his parents. When asked if he wanted to be a farmer, he said, "No!"

Then the book starts to talk about the number of Amish farmers is dropping because of the hard work without machinery.

Now, back to Johnny. Johnny tells how his Rumspringa started very peacefully with church. But now Johnny is having a hard time stopping. He loves baseball and the games. But he recently took a weekend fishing trip with his dad and has realized that Amish life isn't that bad.

Next is Phil T. He respects but isn't very close with his parents. His father would mix Phil and his brothers up. His father would start contests between the brothers. When Phil turned 16, he wanted the highest paying jobs, so he went behind his parents back, got a licence, and moved in with one of his brothers. Then, the book starts to talk about how adolescent is a scary time and that teen make rash decisions.

Next is  Emma M. She is bored with Amish life. She grew up with several older sister who were mean to her. Now, Emma is in Rumspringa and gets lots of attentions from guys her age. Her parents became fearful that she would leave, so they all moved from Missouri to Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, Emma wanted to be cool so she started doing bad things. Her new friends said Emma is pretty enough for TV. Emma moved out to live with a pregnant older sister to get away.

Next, the book begins to explain ordnung. This is a list of unwritten rules for Amish people. These vary from place to place. They are revise semiannually. All these rules are hard on the teens. Each generation is making the rules easier.

Next is Lydia T. She was mentioned last chapter. Instead of putting her check in the bank, she spend it on a weekend with friends. As a child, she was good. When she entered Rumspringa, her parents became fearful and begged her to join the Church. In Rumspringa, you are suppose to decide when you are ready to join the Church; however, in Lydia's case, she was forced to join. That's why she broke the rules of the Church. When she got home, she scared that her father will find out, but he doesn't. Instead shortly after, he asks what she wants in her new buggy. Later on, they both go to pick it up and Lydia gets a feeling that it is time to join the Church.

Then, the book starts to talk about how adolescence became a real thing. In human history, adolescence is getting longer. The decision for Amish teens is only harder.

This chapter was very interesting. I was surprised how a lot of the stories had a happy ending.