This weekend, I got to go out with my mom and our friend Martha for our traditional July birthday lunch. Martha has known me since I was a baby and has always been a surrogate grandma to me. And it turns out that she has a great story about moving to California for grad school 50 years ago…
Martha had a 3 year old and 18 month old and was overdue with #3 when she and Denny had to pack up the family and move from Illinois to Berkley for his master’s program. Since Denny had just gotten out of the army, he decided to make it a nice, long 10 day trip so that he could stop and check out every rock shop along the way. Martha expressed concern about having the baby on the road. Denny told her he had it taken care of and showed her his emergency kit–shears for cutting the cord, and a rubber sheet to contain the mess. This did not comfort Martha much.
True to his nature-loving form, Denny did indeed stop at every planned stop along the way, but he managed not to plan their motel stops around towns with a hospital. One night, he decided to press on 60 miles past a town with a hospital. That night in the secluded motel, week-overdue Martha started having contractions. She laid there, praying and praying that she would not have this baby in this motel room. The contractions ceased.
When they finally got to Berkeley, they had a house, but no furniture or appliances. Denny went out to make arrangements and do errands while Martha and her sister in law stayed in the empty house with the two little ones in diapers. When he got back that evening, he proudly told Martha that he had made great progress! Martha asked when the washer and dryer would be delivered. Denny hadn’t quite gotten to that yet. His sister, single girl that she was, understood the importance of a washer in pre-disposable diaper days, and rather firmly lectured him that it had better be his first priority the next day.
Though Martha was now over two weeks overdue, she did have a name of an OB from her doctor back in Illinois. She went to see him, and when he found out she was sleeping on the bare floor, he kindly lent them a couple of sleeping bags until Denny could arrange for mattresses and such. Baby Elizabeth arrived three weeks late, to the immense relief of her sweet mother.
Martha can laugh about it all now. I’m not sure 50 years would be enough time for me to get over it! So I really have no room to complain about this move. Columbia to Colorado Springs today–with air conditioning, a mini-van, smart phone, disposable diapers, and the Franciscos to welcome us into their home in the evening!