The year was 1974. I was a young child moving to a new home, in a newly blended family with my mom, brother, and new step father. We were relocating from the city, to a small country town in Frederick County, MD. As a point of reference, we were nestled in mountains just miles from the Presidential Retreat Camp David. Our house was set up on a hill top, with a long gravel driveway. Directly across the street was a red sided rancher, home to a young, thin, Dennis the Menace looking kid named Shawn, along with his father Harry, pregnant mother Kathy, and a beautiful Collie named Simon. They claim a child’s younger years are often their most formative. Should this be true, Kathy Baltzell had a great impact on the person I have become. Those were the days without reality TV, cell phones, and electronic devices to keep a child’s focus. Instead we played outdoor games of hide and seek, intense games of croquet, caught fire flies, told ghost stories. I easily admit Shawn Baltzell was the whiniest child I had ever known and we drove each other crazy with our childlike antics. In spite of this we were practically inseparable, being found at each other’s house almost daily. He was my neighbor, my friend, but truly became like a little brother to me. Then along came Ian, who was known by those living on John Cline Road as Jeni’s live baby doll. Often I could be found leaving Kathy’s house with Ian on my hip clad in nothing but a diaper. Sometimes I had a diaper bag on my shoulder, but many times not. Barefoot and barely able to carry him, off we’d go along the gravel driveway and road. Kathy was far more patient than any parent would be today. She trusted me and allowed me to cart him anywhere. While Kathy was overjoyed with her two boys, I claimed the roll of being her first girl. She loved me like I was her own, and treated me just the same. When I recall the years of having the Baltzells as our neighbors, they stand out among the best memories of my childhood, largely due to Kathy and her ability to love so big. She was vivacious and simply made life enjoyable. A naturally beautiful woman who carried a sparkle in her eye that no makeup could cover up or mimic. She had a complexion that didn’t need airbrushed, and a smile even the heavens would envy. Then there was her laugh. Oh, that crazy Kathy laugh. A loud boisterous cackle that would cause others to laugh along just because. She also had a love of vitamins. I’ve never known anyone to take as many vitamins as she did back then. Kathy had a creative talent, teaching me you can make something out of just about anything, and is probably the reason I hang on to far more than I should to this day. I recall making craft projects with her. One was taking an empty tuna fish can, cutting off the top, and bending the rim so it would sit on its side and become almost egg shaped. Then we would plant moss inside and make it into a terrarium. I swear one summer we made 20 of these, to the point I asked her who in the world would possibly want another one. She hand sewed many items for me, including a life sized look alike doll. It was only because of Kathy that my brother and I had badges sewn onto our Scouting uniforms, and it was Kathy and her first husband Harry that graciously gave me a gift one Christmas even Santa couldn’t top…..a handmade wooden doll house complete with a stone fireplace, canopy bed, and much of the furniture being made by them as well. It is the greatest memory I have of a Christmas gift as a child. I still have that doll house and will pass it onto my daughter. I remember how excited they were to give it to me, and learned afterwards how they had it covered up and hidden it in their basement so I wouldn’t see it. As a parent today, I can understand the joy and excitement of Christmas morning, and am so touched at how excited they were to make mine special. Kathy had an ability to find treasures out of nothing. There was this van that she drove. Not a slick, powered-steering minivan of today, rather this large, cranberry red van that I think had curtains in the windows. She would pile us inside and off we’d go on bulk trash day. We’d ride into Frederick and see what people had set out for bulk trash pick-up. Upon finding something she wanted, she’d slam on the brakes and suddenly bring the van to a stop so quickly we would go sliding on seats. As we jumped out to open the back of the van and load up items, I would be looking over my shoulder the entire time. Being the daughter of a criminal investigator, I would nervously say “Ms. Kathy….this… just…. doesn’t…. seem like a good idea.” In her perfect southern draw she would respond, “Now just hush yourself Gen-knee. I’m going to turn these into treasures.” I loved how she said my name. It was Jeni with G instead of a J. She also introduced this young Northern girl to the word ‘fixin’ and the phrase ‘Ya’ll. We spent many summer days swimming in a swimming hole along Route 77 in the Catoctin Mountains. There was no pool, no diving board, just a swimming hole Kathy found alongside the road with natural stones that even simulated a slide. To this day as I drive along this picturesque area of the Catoctin Mountains, I think of her. Neither me nor any of my family members have been able to locate that swimming hole since the Baltzells moved approximately 37 years ago. It was another one of Kathy’s treasures. I easily remember when the Baltzells moved away and how very sad I was for quite some time afterwards. I felt as if I had lost members of my immediate family. I didn’t realize at the time that God was taking her closer to family, and that he had other plans for Kathy and her family. Steve would one day enter her life and so would another son Ben. Then there would be Grandchildren. I remember how crazy giddy she was when Sarah was born. Finally….she had a girl. The last time I saw Kathy in person was 12 years ago when I flew down for her 50th birthday. I enjoyed that special time with Shawn and his family, as well as Kathy, Steve, Ian, Ben, and her sweet, sweet, mother. When the phone rang late Monday afternoon, a number appeared on my phone that I didn’t recognize. Upon answering it, I heard that voice from years ago. Instead of that whiney little boy that drove me crazy, it was the sound of a grieving man. Ironically, as soon as he said my name I knew who it was. Years of being apart, and not being in touch, didn’t erase the sound of Shawn’s voice. How could it be that just days earlier Kathy had accepted my friend request on Facebook and had ‘liked’ some of my status updates, and now the lively, full of love person that I’ve carried with me all these years was gone? Gone from this earth, gone from pain and suffering, but never gone from our hearts. I certainly know where she went. For Kathy loved the Lord, and was a woman of faith. She lived her life as an example of God’s love. I’d give anything to be there today. To stand beside Steve and her boys and their families and support them as a way for me to honor her. I’d want to hug her mom, and I’d seek out Harry and do the same. I’d enjoy hearing other’s recollections of her life, and would want to share my story in person. I’d tell you how I waited too long to come see her again, as I mistakenly thought I had more time. I’d stand up and challenge each of you to be a Kathy in someone else’s life. Show up. Have fun. Trust others. Make them laugh. Challenge them to step outside their comfort zone. Find treasures. Make something out of nothing. Love big. Laugh so loud others laugh along. Make a child’s Christmas their best ever. Love another as if they were your own. Live your life as God’s witness. Pop your vitamins. In doing so, Kathy won’t ever be gone from this earth, rather will live on through your good works. Rest in peace sweet lady. This heart of mine will never, ever, forget the love and joy you so graciously filled it with years ago. In true Kathy fashion, I’ll continue to seek out some treasures here on earth, although my faith reminds me the true treasure for each of us is to join Jesus in God’s Kingdom in Heaven. I’ll pray and hope my daughter, who is now the age I was when I first met your family, will be blessed to have a Kathy in her life who loves her, believes in her, and trusts her…just as you did me. My best, Jeni
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 15:19:47 +0000
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