My grandparents purchased 2119 N. Muskingum in 1947. It's where my mother grew up, where I spent every weekend growing up, where Ryan and I lived when he was born and where Trouper and I kissed for the first time. It's where our family celebrated good times like Christmases and birthdays, and gathered during difficult times like when my precious Papa went to heaven. Each Sunday, after church, my Grandma took her afternoon nap (in the back bedroom) while my Papa and I (often joined by my sister and brother) watched westerns, ate peanuts and drank Cokes. Before every prom or dance, we stopped by Muskingum to show off our pretty dresses to not only my Grandparents, but all our Muskingum family. Our Godmother, Dorothy Froelich, our adopted Aunt and Uncle, Hazel and Jack (who owned a HUGE peacock) and my friends Christina and Andy were just a few of the neighborhood family. Last night, I vividly dreamt of the time Dorothy paid my cousin Brad and I to clean her backyard. My Grandma had surgery and Brad and his family had come to town to visit. We decided we wanted to earn money to buy Grandma some flowers so we headed across the street and asked Dorothy if she had any chores we could do. She said yes, she needed her backyard cleaned so we headed out back and walked straight into a jungle. The weeds were taller than we were and you couldn't even see the back fence the brush was so dense. Brad and I pulled weeds for hours, until our little 10 and 8 year old bodies couldn't do it anymore. We had made a pretty good dent in the jungle and Dorothy rewarded us with 5 dollars. Not 5 dollars each, but 5 dollars together. We were pretty smart kids and knew we were getting ripped off but nonetheless, Aunt Glenda drove us to TG&Y. We didn't have nearly enough for the pretty flowers and vase, so my Aunt generously pitched in the rest. We never went back to finish the job, God only knows what that place looked like when Dorothy passed away in '99.
When my sister was born, during my parent's divorce, we lived next door and I was in heaven. I could walk next door to my Grandparent's house and eat breakfast (my Grandma made a HUGE breakfast every morning) or go over and sit in the front porch and people watch with all the neighbors. When I was 8 and my sister was 3, we got a baby brother. We were so happy, we ran outside, saw Dorothy sitting on her porch and yelled "we got a boy". We played slip and slide in the yard, walked to Dairy Queen for ice cream sandwiches and sat on the front porch for hours. It was a magical place and often, solace during times of trouble.
Perhaps that's why I visited it last night, my mind knew I needed to go somewhere safe, somewhere special, and comforting. It was my touchstone for so many years, in fact there aren't too many high school kids that spent every weekend with their grandparents but I did and I wouldn't trade a moment. Last night's visit to Muskingum worked it's magic and I feel a little better, and I'm ready to face whatever is headed my way with a smile and a warm heart, knowing that my family from Muskingum is looking down, smiling and cheering me on!
