I was born poor white trash... yet raised a child of God. Life in Tampico, IL at the Adamson house was an experience! It still amazes me that my parents could instill in us the most important gospel principles: love, faith, hope and charity. I still don't understand how they did it amid the utter chaos, contention and stress of raising 12 children, not to mention on a steel workers income. I am surprised at how proud I feel when people ask me what my dad did for a living and I respond, "He was a steel worker." I am proud of his grease/dirt stained hands. I thought all men's hands where suppose to look and feel like that. I remember holding Ryan's hands for the first time and they were so white and soft... definitely NOT real man's hands! I've come to love, respect and need those soft kind hands the same way I did my Dad's. I came home the other night, everyone was asleep and the fire was going out. I looked in the wood box & it was empty. I walked outside into the cool night air and was grateful it was a pleasant night. Instantly I thought of my mom on those biting cold northern Illinois nights walking out into the frigid night air because our wood box was empty. Often times she was pregnant, carrying load after load of wood into our house to keep us warm through the night. I have no idea how she got up every morning to face that same dismal life. I stoked the fire and sat in my warm home thankful for the life I have. We were blessed with the opportunity to help split wood for a sister in our ward. It felt SO good to get out and work... real physical work! I started thinking about all this because someone commented, "You know what I like about you, you are the kind of person that will sit on the floor." I don't think I see myself the way others see me. I am still that kid growing up in Tampico, IL... poor white trash but now KNOWING, I am a daughter of God. That means more than being married to a Doctor (surprisingly, some people think that is a big deal and makes you worth more!) or living in a big house (it's the same as any other house, it gets dirty & you have to clean it, it has doors and windows and the bathrooms get stinky). I think once people get to know me, really get to know me they realize I don't fit in that round peg hole they thought I did. When we moved from Ohio a young man helping us move said to his mom, "How did they end up in THIS neighbor, she is such a redneck!" He knew me! I am happiest in my old jeans, a t-shirt and work gloves. Some of my fondest memories with my children are cutting down trees, splitting wood, working on 4-wheelers, digging holes and fixing things. I love when they throw on their work clothes and run outside with huge smiles, ready to join in the fun... aka work! If I had to describe myself in one work it would be simple or plain.
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