Hope everyone had a great weekend.  The winner of a signed copy of Plain Pursuit is Carol G.!  Congrats Carol!

Most readers of Amish fiction are familiar with the running around period that begins when an Amish teenager turns sixteen, referred to as rumschpringe.  This is a time when Amish teens are given an opportunity to experience the Englisch world - shed their plain clothing, go to the movies, watch TV with friends, and other activities normally frowned upon by the Old Order.  Parents look the other way during this time, which begins at sixteen and will continue on until the teenager chooses to seek baptism into the community or chooses to leave the faith.  Less than 15% choose to leave the Old Order following this running around period.  Some young people will continue their running around period until they have chosen a spouse.  Most of the time, baptism comes right before marriage.  

While I was in Lancaster County, I saw some boys who were enjoying their rumschpringe.  They were wearing their Plain clothing, however they were also sporting baseball caps and IPods, and their buggies were filled with colorful beads and a radio.  A friend who grew up Amish also shared a story with me.  When he was growing up, one of his Amish friends actually purchased a car during his running around period.  So as not to flaunt it in his father's face, the boy would hide the car in the woods each evening when he returned home.  His parents knew about the car, but looked the other way.

When I first started writing these books, my Amish friends asked me to please not dramatize this period in a teen's life.  It's important to the Amish that we understand that their teenagers are no different than those in the Englisch world.  They will test the boundaries just like any teenager.  I also saw this first hand while dining with an Amish family while I was there.  A young man in his rumschpringe came to the dinner table after he had secured buggies and horses for the night.  I don't know what happened, but the boy arrived with 'attitude', and I watched his father discretely cut his eyes in the boy's direction, which seemed to say, "Leave the table."  Like any normal teenager, the boy grunted and left the room.  As the mother of a teenager, I could certainly relate. 

Any parent, Amish or otherwise, deserves a huge pat on the back for surviving the teenager years! 

Hope you all have a great week!