This essay appeared in over 100 US newspapers in October, and was released March 1, 2007 in Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Ten Thousand Miles in Blue Streak
As a child, raised by a single mother, my experience in the 1970’s was different from that of my friends. I was a latchkey kid with more responsibilities than other children my age. But Mom worked hard, saved every penny, and made a comfortable life for us — one that included her passion for travel.
She purchased a 1973 Midas motor home and named it “Blue Streak”. During a ten-year span, we traveled to 47 states. In my late teens, we pulled a horse trailer and competed in shows throughout Wisconsin, and as far away as Ohio, Texas, and even Walla Walla, Washington. I’ll never forget the summer after I got my license. We crossed the Continental Divide with me sitting in the driver’s seat. I wondered how many 16-year-olds had ever done that.
Recently Mom was reminiscing about our earliest travels. “Remember when we visited Graceland and toured Elvis’ home?” she asked. “And wasn’t it great overlooking Niagara Falls?” My blank response frustrated her — the only destinations I remembered before age ten were those she kept in photo scrapbooks.
“I took you all those places and you don’t remember a thing,” she complained. I felt guilty —she was right. Then I contemplated my memory.
“No, Mom, I don’t remember all the places we went,” I said. “I don’t recall this statue, or that museum, or even the lobster we ate in Maine.”
“What I do remember, though, is that you were always there. It was just you and me for thousands of miles. I remember the orange shag carpet and the faded yellow curtains. I remember the RV water that smelled and the oven that didn’t work because mice made a nest in the insulation. I remember reading the map for you and figuring out how many miles before the next rest stop.”
“And I remember how you drove late into the night, while I fell asleep in the bunk above. You sang songs that started with each letter of the alphabet: Are You Lonesome Tonight, Band of Gold, Chances Are, Don’t be Cruel…”
“I remember listening to your ‘should-have-been-famous’ voice. That was my lullaby.”
Now, over thirty years after my first trip with my mom, I’ve started traveling with my own daughter. I ask her to pick the destination, but she doesn’t seem to care where we go.
“I just want us to go together,” she says.
Mom gave me many gifts: an appreciation for culture, a strong work ethic, and the confidence I can do whatever I put my mind to. But one of her greatest lessons was unintended:
Where you’re going doesn’t matter as much as who’s with you on the journey.
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Tags: *Empowerment, Parenting, Pass the Torch, Pass the Torch Tuesday, Published writing, responsibility, travel with kids
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9:33 pm
WOW Kelly! That’s awesome about this being the newspaper!! Congrats to you! And the story is really touching. Your daughter will remember all those times you two spent to gether. What an inspiration!!
10:16 pm
Your articles are popping up everywhere. How is ‘albertus’ (: gonna handle having such a celebrity for a wife??
Wish I had traveled more… wish I had written more
10:20 pm
Woo hoo! Excellent post/article. Congrats on the nation-wide publishing! Fantastic and well-deserved.
11:30 pm
Wow! What a great article! I’ll keep my eyes open to see if it appears in my local paper!
12:42 am
What an awesome story. I look forward to being able to do the same thing with my own children one day. Here is my link http://baileyandsophie.blogspot.com/2006/10/friendship.html
8:32 am
What a wonderful story!! My Pass the Torch Tuesday post.
11:09 am
[…] Pass the Torch Tuesday #1 - August 8 PTT #2 - August 15 PTT #3 - August 22 PTT #4 - August 30 PTT#5 - September 5 PTT#6 - September 12 PTT#7 - September 19 PTT #8 - September 26 PTT #9 - October 3 PTT #10 - October 10 […]
11:17 am
That is a wonderful article! I was thinking similar thoughts this weekend as we drove to our family cabin with our son. It is a long drive but we have fun - most of the time!
I hope he remembers that!
Congrats for the syndication! And thanks for your great post at our place on Saturday!
11:49 am
Kelly, congrats on this post being a newspaper article. That’s so very exciting! Hooray for you!
I must tell you, I take comfort in your words, “Where you’re going doesn’t matter as much as who’s with you on the journey.”
We try to make the most of our time with Snuggle Bug and travel with him and include him in nearly everything we do. Sometimes I wonder how many of our excursions he’ll remember, but if what he remembers is only the time we spent with him and not the details, I’ll be thrilled!
Excellent post!
Also, I wanted to be sure to thank you for your encouraging comment on my Adoption, exploring a new avenue post. I do appreciate it!
11:51 am
What a wonderful story! I love to go places with my children. I did alot with my oldest, since she’s 6 yrs. apart from my son, and she doesn’t remember either, but she loves to look at pictures and hear all the stories. Congratulations for the syndication! Here’s my Pass the Torch post this week.
2:07 pm
Kelly, what a great story! It made me think of all those hours logged on road trips with my parents oh-so-many years ago
Thanks for the reminiscence. Here’s my Pass the Torch Tuesday post.
I’ve tried linking back to you as a ping–I’m not so tech savvy, so I don’t know if it worked LOL
2:30 pm
You are right. It doesn’t matter where you go as long as you are with the person you love to share your time with :smile:. Great philosphy your mom taught you. I think is great that your daughter already thinks along the same lines.
BTW - the picture on my site today - San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico.
4:45 pm
Girl Games
Something is sticking! As a parent, you wonder and worry that your teaching efforts and influence are bouncing off your kids. You pray that something sticks. Last night my daughter proved to me that something is sticking and I’m very, very hap…
5:28 pm
Hi ladies,
It doesn’t look like my trackback made it so I’ll post my link this way! ;o) Girl Games Thanks to everyone for sharing! I’m hoping to go get them all checked out soon!
Hugs,
Holly
Holly’s Corner
6:02 pm
Sorry Holly! Your ping was stuck in my Akismet file. Whoops!
Thank you all for your comments and participation! Another excellent Pass the Torch Tuesday!
9:31 pm
I posted about my 4 year old and her long, hard day.
~Leslie
9:32 pm
Sorry, though–I don’t know a ping from a hole in the ground
1:46 am
Poignant story. Thanks for sharing. What a great story to be able to save and share with your progeny. Someday, I hope to be able to do the same.
8:14 am
[…] We had another AWESOME Pass the Torch Tuesday yesterday, and this week’s spotlight post is from Leslie, at My 20 Cents Keeps Moving. During her daughter’s long hard day, there were numerous Pass the Torch-worthy parts. Please visit her, as well as the other excellent Pass the Torch Tuesday participants. Their direct links are in comments. Thank you to all who participated, read and commented! […]
12:30 pm
Wow. That is an AMAZING message. I’ve actually written it and posted it near my computer, about not where you’re going but who you’re with. Sounds like you’ve had an amazing foundation built by a strong woman, to help you become the best you can, too. Wow. I’ve dragged my kids through a lot, following hubby’s army job. Only hope they can get such a good message like yours someday, too. Wow, again.
3:14 pm
I have laughed, and I sure have cried while reading through ALL of the Giving Thanks for Mother contest entries. And I’ve RE-READ them all since coming home, too.
I wish I could post ALL of them as winners, maybe send out some more books from my winnowed out collection.
But I’ve FINALLY published a winner and invite you to come on by and check out my post. I am working on a sidebar link to the winning post, but also a link to the contest post with ALL of the listed entries.
This was such a great contest and all the contributors wrote excellent posts. Thanks for hosting - and for recognizing my post in such a thoughtful way.
8:48 am
[…] Congratulations to Kathleen Marie, at Stranded in the Mountains, for winning the Thankful for Mothers contest hosted by Chaotic Home. I contributed my 10,000 Miles in Blue Streak post. Awesome stories there - check it out! […]
9:46 pm
[…] Chicken Soup for the Soul: Celebrating Mothers and Daughters (Chicken Soup for the Soul) was finally released today. The book features my story, Ten Thousand Miles in Blue Streak. […]
6:12 pm
Not that we don’t communicate much, but I didn’t know about this article until today….. But something I DO remember is about when 3 years ago I was driving north on a country road I had never been. . . when out of the corner of my eye I saw something astonishing and jerked to a stop! There, maybe 200 feet off the road, down a long driveway deep in weeds, stood an old Dodge mini-motorhome. It HAD to be Blue Streak!! I backed up, drove down the long driveway with my heart pounding and stopped in front of this old, rather tattered piece of machinery and looked at the driver’s door. There were the little letters I had pasted on many years ago “BLUE STREAK” and I noticed the checkerboard logo of MIDAS was missing too. The man I bought it from removed it because he thought it looked like PURINA dog chow’s logo.
I went to the flat-faced hood of this marvelous old machine and laid my head down on her with tears welling in my eyes. OH the many miles, the sunsets, sunrises, national attractions, mountains almost too steep for her……..Kelly asleep overhead or buried in a book behind….. I used to say “OH look at that gorgeous sunset!!” She’d say “yeah yeah” and keep reading.
I remembered Blue Streak FILLED with Girl Scout Cookies and us delivering them to the multitudes (She won a TV for our efforts) I remembered us lifting a wild dog into the back door who was about to be shot for tearing trash cans apart. We had Danny Boy for years. I remembered the wet saddles and pads, bales of hay on the roof and the time we watched the July 4th fireworks from her roof from a cliff in northern California.
The owner came out to see what I was doing there and let me go inside…..the orange carpet was still there, the faded curtains…. and my pilot seat! He said he was in the process of replacing her motor. AHhhh a new life for Blue Streak. Could it ever be so grand? Kelly may have forgotten most of our travels, but I remember every mile……… but do you know what was the best of ALL?
She was always there!
Oh Mom! Now I’M in tears! Great memories, huh?
9:14 pm
I really enjoyed this story. It has stuck with me these last few days. All of the entries were outstanding, and I wanted you to know that this was really good writing.
7:15 pm
[…] A couple of weeks ago, the KARE 11 Saturday Morning Show producer (Twin Cities NBC affiliate) contacted me to participate in a segment this Saturday, May 5, to discuss my story in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Celebrating Mothers and Daughters. Two other area contributing authors will also appear on the segment. […]