"I never knew what to say if someone asked me at a party, "What do you do?" Artist, writer, therapist, wife, mother - I would be judged by the label I chose. The Amish make no distinction. No one is labeled cook, quilter, or housewife. In fact, standing out would be a false pride. I remembered Miriam saying,
"Making a batch of vegetable soup, it's not right for the carrot to say I taste better than the peas, or the pea to say I taste better than the cabbage. It takes all the vegetables to make a good soup!"
Sue continues, "Maybe one of these days I'll be able to give myself a gold star for being ordinary, and maybe one of these days I'll give myself a gold star for being extraordinary - for persisting. And maybe one day I won't need to have a star at all."
May that be so for each of us, and when we don't need a star at all, perhaps we better see all the stars in the sky.
After all, as Masahide said,
My house burned down.
I now see better
the rising moon.