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Health & Fitness

Amish and Morristown: Perfect Together

Having grown up in Morristown (40+ years...yes, I admit it), I look in complete wonder at how the town keeps evolving and growing. In the "old" days, there were a pocketful of restaurants and handful of stores. Traffic around the Green (tip to newcomers: it's called a "SQUARE" not a "CIRCLE") was easy to navigate. The large Headquarters Plaza complex did not exist and the Speedwell Avenue section of town was completely run down and, frankly, not a place young girls would venture to visit.

Today, there are probably as many restaurants as banks. The Headquarters Plaza complex looms as a landmark for those who are unfamiliar with the town and the new condo/apartment complexes testify to a new type of resident moving into the area. On any given night, you can travel to any multitude of restaurants on Speedwell Ave, sample cuisine from around the world.

Times...they are a-changing.

Yet, tucked into the backroads of Morristown (really, Morris Township), something exciting is happening. Maybe it's only in my mind but I try to share it with as many readers as I possibly can. Despite having grown up in this increasingly populated town, I continue to return both physically and mentally to the world of the Amish and Mennonites. On some weekends, I take the 2.5 hour drive to spend a few days and nights with my Amish friends. For the rest of the time, I rely on my memory as I write my novels, novellas, and short stories.

My most recent adventure was writing a trilogy of novella length stories called The Divine Secrets of the Whoopie Pie Sisters (co-written with Pamela Jarrell).  It was the first time that I co-wrote an Amish Christian book, although I have co-written several Christian books with Ella Stewart. Imagine our surprise when the Whoopie Pie Sisters immediately went into the Top 100 eBooks sold on Amazon and stayed there for almost two weeks!

I have been writing about the Amish since 1986, although nothing was published until a few short years ago. Since that time, I have written and published over 50 works, at least ten of them landing in the coveted Top 100 Club on Amazon.

Today, I submitted my first manuscript to Charisma House, a large international Christian publishing house. An exciting day, for sure and certain...35 years in the waiting! Yet, before I was able to actually hit the submit button on that email, I was walking the halls at Frelinghuysen School, helping my daughter figure out how to open her locker (and THAT was a disaster) and showing her where her classrooms are located.  I came home to write for a while then was interrupted by my son who needed a ride to the high school for football practice.

It's amazing that I can be so immersed in the real world around me for one minute and then, just a few seconds later, I retreat to the world of the Amish, a culture and religion that is simpler and less demanding than the world in which we live. It's not always easy to flip the switch from Morristown mode to Amish aura. Yet, there are times when the two seem to blend perfectly together. It creates a balance in my life that I wouldn't change for anything in the world...including a horse drawn buggy sitting in my driveway. 

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