I’m totally addicted to facebook. It has been really fun getting reacquainted with old friends. I love to see where there're all at in their lives now, whom they are married to… all of that great stuff. I just recently got reacquainted with some old neighbors of mine growing up. When I updated this old neighbor on my sibling, myself and my parents – he seemed a little shocked and disappointed that we are not all dregs to society.
We were the weird family on the street. We are Mormon, 6 kids, rented a 3 bedroom house (for over 10 years) and I’m sure to the outside world we looked like white trash. For a large part of my childhood my mom drove a red station wagon that leaned to one side permanently. I was so embarrassed when we would drive in it and would often lie on the seat so people couldn’t see me.
We were poor, but I never knew how poor. My mom sacrificed new clothes and furniture so she could stay home and raise her children. She made dinner every night (good stuff from scratch) and we ate as a family. We ate so well that getting a frozen meal was a treat. To this day my favorite thing is a Banquet frozen fried chicken meal, because we rarely got frozen food. She canned her own jam and fruit and made bread. I thought that was what poor people did and was so embarrassed when people would come over and eat it. I didn’t understand at the time when they thought it was so great – I do now.
We were not the typical family on that street, and I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful that I was born of “goodly parents” and not worldly ones. They taught us valuable lessons in life. They taught us the difference between right and wrong, how to live an honest life, and how to be good and kind people. My parents raised all 6 of us to be good members of the church and good members of society. Something that money can’t buy. I wouldn’t change my humble, and sometimes embarrassing, upbringing for all the money in the world.
Joseph Smith once said that one of his greatest blessings in life was that of poverty. I never understood that until recently – and I totally agree that it is mine as well. As a divorced mother of 4 children money is scarce. I’m sure that some people feel sorry for me, but let me assure you that there is no need for that. I was raised with humble beginnings, and so are my children. My ex-husband is building a house with his girlfriend and they move in next month. He got a nice house and I got the kids… I’m the lucky one!
