This week brings a string of family milestones, and at the center of the gratitude is a long-awaited handicap accessible buggy that will make everyday life easier for Kevin and his caregivers.
The family will observe several birthdays in mid-July. Joe and I mark our 33rd anniversary on July 15, a date that always brings to mind my late brother Albert, whose birthday we shared on our wedding day.
On July 10 our grandson Denzel turned 4. Our son Benjamin turns 27 on the 14th. Granddaughter Sharlene will reach her first birthday on the 17th, and my sister Emma turns 53 on the 19th.
We also remember our dear mother’s birthday on the 18th, a reminder of her counsel and the comfort of faith during life’s trials.
Community rallies and handicap accessible buggy arrives
On Saturday, around 16 men and boys gathered early at daughter Elizabeth and Tim’s home to install new metal on the garage and barn roofs after storm damage, and to replace broken windows.
Their help was greatly appreciated, according to the family. Their work on the barn roofs was especially meaningful after recent severe weather, which has affected many rural families and farms across the country, as seen in reports on cover crop plantings and other agricultural issues.
Daughter Susan and her husband Ervin hosted church services again on Sunday, drawing a large turnout with many visitors. We served nine tables.
Guests included two of Ervin’s brothers and their families, the parents and brothers of Ervin’s late wife Sarah, another sibling and family, as well as Mose’s two sisters with their families and his uncle Freeman and Aunt Ella Mae.
Freeman built and installed our kitchen and bathroom cabinets two decades ago when we constructed our home. Our extended family attended as well, while Joe stayed home to rest as his twice-daily therapy sessions have been tiring.
Lunch featured homemade wheat and white bread, cheese and peanut butter spreads, ham, pickles, pickled red beets, hot peppers, jelly, butter, cookies, iced tea, and coffee.
Emma prepared the tea, a welcome refreshment on a warm day.
After 16 months of planning and fundraising, Kevin received his handicap accessible buggy, made possible by generous community support. The buggy is outfitted with a rear lift that folds down and can be lowered to ground level with a remote control.
Kevin can drive onto the platform with his mobility scooter and be raised to the carriage to enter. The front passenger seat folds up to allow Kevin to sit beside the driver if he chooses, and a rear side seat can also fold to accommodate different seating needs.
The lift system draws power from a solar panel mounted on the buggy, charging a lithium battery beneath the carriage that also operates lights and turn signals.
Kevin is learning to trust the lift, particularly when backing onto it to exit, and acknowledges that heights feel different without the option to step off quickly. The family extends heartfelt thanks to all who contributed, including those who supported a benefit barbecue chicken drive that helped fund the project.
Recipe: Saucy meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds hamburger
- 3/4 cup uncooked rolled oats
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 1 cup tomato juice or V8 juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs, beaten
Sauce
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
Instructions
Mix hamburger, oats, onion, eggs, tomato juice, salt, and pepper until combined. Shape into two logs in a 9×13-inch pan or use two loaf pans, packing firmly.
Whisk together the sauce ingredients and spread over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.
Lovina Eicher is an Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Readers may write to PO Box 234, Sturgis, MI 49091, including a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply.
Emails to Questionsforlovina@gmail.com will be forwarded to her. Information about the Old Order Amish can be found through resources like the Mennonite and Amish visitor information services or the Library of Congress.
