My Dearest Naomi by Jerry, Tina Eicher Read Free Book Online Page B

keep the spider alive to observe it.
    I guess the idea of not killing a spider is pretty foreign to them. When the spider moved again, some of the girls giggled and others let out yelps.
    I tried to do our devotions next, but that spider in the jar had their attention. I told them of my nature collection plans, and now they are all excited. They had all kinds of suggestions on what to bring.
    At recess everyone stayed inside at first to look at the spider in the jar. It was so still, we thought it might be dead after all. A heart attack from the kids’ reactions? Eventually I poked it with a ruler, and there it wentskittering back up the side of the jar, trying to escape again. I wished I had cotton in my ears to muffle the screams.
    At noontime I went outside and brought in a small stick to put in the jar for the spider to sit on. But it didn’t want the stick. It wanted out of that jar.
    This evening after the ball game I went in and the critter was gone. So there will be more excitement tomorrow when it turns up—likely during class or in the middle of devotions.
    The eighth-grade class had nouns, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections for their English class today. They thought the lesson was going to be terrible, but after I explained it they didn’t think it was that bad after all.
    On an unrelated subject, Luella had picked up a recipe for marshmallow cream in Fairfield the first Saturday I was here, figuring I could tell her how to make Amish peanut butter. This evening she had the marshmallow cream ready, and I did one better then telling—I prepared a batch myself. It tasted fair, if I do say so. You know, made by a man’s hand and all.
Thursday evening…
    I received a letter from my sister Heidi today. So Lydia Gingerich is having a date on Sunday, which will of course have happened by the time you receive this letter. I had told them at home that Lydia and Daniel would make a good match. Not that I am trying to find a match for Lydia, but she needs a phlegmatic man. From what Heidi says, it sounds as if it’s going to be hard on her to lose the close friendship she has with Lydia if she marries. Not that anyone knows with this being the first date, but Heidi seems to think it’s a fairly sure thing.
    I’m alone this evening since Lonnie and Luella have gone somewhere to get apples. It’s seven o’clock already, and they still aren’t back. Luella left shortcake and strawberries for me, so supper was no problem. Afterward, I found a handful of cookies, apples, and orange juice to enjoy while sitting down to read the local paper. I didn’t find any interesting reading. I’d be more interested in Time magazine or U.S. News & World Report.
    I did their chores tonight, as I’m caught up with my schoolwork for a change. The chores only amount to feeding the cat and dog and gathering eggs.
    Sometime I want to give you a list of the children’s names and their grade levels, but I haven’t found the time so far.
    The spider turned up this afternoon on one of the stools. He must have been hiding under it. I caught him and took him outside. I figured there wasn’t much use putting him back in the jar. He’d just get out again, and next time he might pick a different place to set up shop—like one of the girls’ desks.
    Today the children brought in crickets, butterflies, woolly worms, and a peacock feather. I’m going down with Duane tonight after dark to Lonnie’s barn on their other farm. We plan to catch sparrows and pigeons. We might keep a few of the pigeons to grill later. That used to be quite an outing in my growing-up years, trips over to my friend’s house where we grilled pigeons over an old farm barrel. I hope to make them like that again, only I don’t have a barrel. Luella is sure the grill will be better. She also said my Amish peanut butter tastes good.
Friday morning…
    We caught nine pigeons and four sparrows last night. We kept four of the pigeons for