I’ve mentioned this in passing, but never really went into detail. Lessons learned here have carried me through my life thus far so maybe I should drag it up from the trenches of my memories. I’m sure my older siblings remember things differently, but to my little kid self, this is how it was.
In the early 70s, my uncle Bill was living in Hagerstown, Maryland and was opening a new restaurant in nearby Edgewood. He needed help and reached out to my mother to bring her on board. She, being the workhorse she is, thought maybe it was time for something new and different for our family. Plans were made for us to head east!
I only recently learned this part of the story, but my big brother Tim went east first to find our new home. He and Bill toured many Baltimore houses and then he found our perfect new home. It was a short walk to the elementary school, on the bus route, and in the perfect neighborhood for our family. I don’t really remember any of the leaving the Midwest details but I definitely remember the excitement about our new home!
We knew it was bigger than our current home. We knew it was a Victorian style three story house with a screened front porch, built in window seats, and a back yard. We knew it was grander than we could imagine and it was exciting! I remember planning with my brother Rick on the drive east that we would share a room on the third floor and we’d load our window seat with Funyuns and Reeses Cups that would be all ours!
This was an adventure! We were moving with eight of our nine kids (Tim was already on the road as a working musician so he didn’t move with us) PLUS two extra teenage boys who were moving with us. What could go wrong?
This is where the movie folks would put in a record scratch sound.
As it turned out there was a paperwork glitch that meant we couldn’t get into our new Baltimore home. Thankfully, my uncle knew the man who owned the closed motel next to his restaurant site and we were allowed to move in there while we waited to get into our house. As I remember it, we travelled east during Spring Break so we had a little bit of time to enroll in schools and figure out next steps.
Remember, I said this motel had been closed for some time. This meant that luxuries like electricity and properly running water were not available. Still, to at least the younger kids in the family, it was kind of an adventure – like camping indoors! We ran extension cords for power and prepared meals with a camping stove, an electric griddle, and a popcorn popper. We explored all of the rooms and each had our own favorite nooks.
School started and we’d all pile into the station wagon for the 30-ish mile ride into Baltimore for the drop off at the elementary school, the junior high, and the high school. I don’t know what my mother did while we were there but since I was in kindergarten, I only had half days. She’d pick me up, and we’d go to a park or playground or something to eat sandwiches for lunch and explore the area while we waited for the older kids to be ready for pick up. Then, back to Edgewood, to do homework, make dinner, wash the dishes in the bathtub, explore the motel, etc. Lather, rinse, repeat. I’m not entirely sure how long we were there, but it was probably at least eight weeks before we could get into our Baltimore home.
As a grown up, I don’t know how my mother did this. I never saw her collapse. I’m sure it was hellish for the older kids. For me – and probably a few of my younger siblings – I have only fun memories of that time. It was an exciting adventure! We explored this strange place and made it fun. We wandered the neighborhood and went to the arcade and movie theater – we saw Jaws! We were a united team, we helped each other, and we turned our lemons into delicious lemonade.
Obviously, these things are all about perspective. I’m sure the older kids’ version won’t be as rainbow colored but my view was exciting and joyous. I know my mother is a badass and I stand in awe of her abilities.
I’m grateful for the skills I picked up by osmosis because I’m still able to improvise my way through hardships. For that, I thank my mother for taking a leap and the El Dorado Motor Lodge for catching us when we landed.
