Do I look Amish to you?

Some of you have heard this story, but it still makes me laugh. Plus it gives you a little bit more of an understanding of what I deal with on a daily basis. Back in August we drove up to New York for my grandmother's 84th birthday. We were staying with my sister and on our second day there, my 19 year old nephew asked if he could take my 16 year old son to a party with him. I was not thrilled with the idea but reluctantly agreed. His response? "Great! I told everyone that my Amish cousin was coming!"

???

So I'm like "Um, Justin, we're not Amish." He looks at me like I've grown a second head. "You're not?" He asked, all confused. "Aren't you something with the homeschooling and the living down south?" I'm dumbfounded. "You mean, Christian?" I ask. "Yeah, that's it! I knew you were something." He was all pleased with himself as he walked away.

A couple of months later, I'm on the phone with my sister and we're talking about swapping pictures via e-mail and she couldn't figure out how to do it so she puts her son on the phone to help. I give him my e-mail address and when I say that it's at embarqmail.com he asked, "Embarq? Is that some sort of Amish e-mail?" Sigh. "Yes," I say patiently. Because everyone knows that the Amish are famous for their technology and e-mail service. Honestly, it's a good thing that he's pretty because there's not too much going on upstairs, if you know what I mean.

But seriously, what exactly is it about me that screams 'Amish'? Is it the highlights in my hair? The perfectly sculped waxed eyebrows? The fact that I drive a car? My use of cell phones? Take your pick!

I guess when you look at the way that they live and all of the creature comforts that they enjoy, we must look Amish to them. I really don't see anything wrong with us - we like things simple. Now excuse me while I go and harvest some wheat while listening to an i-Pod.