You Can't Handle the Truth!!

Got your attention? Well good, because I want to talk about YOUR happy truth and why you should always hold on to it. I'm hoping my concept of happy truth will reveal itself as you read on. :-)

There were some challenges in my childhood. It wasn't perfect for sure but let me just tell you about it.

I grew up with my Mom, one sister and three brothers in a small country community. Both my maternal and paternal grandparents had farms. There were fields of corn, peanuts, butter beans, and peas around us. In one family's yard or the other, you could find smaller gardens with squash, tomatoes, onions, greens, etc. There were pear, apple, fig, plum, and pecan trees. On the roadsides, you could find fresh blackberry bushes. It was heaven to me!

We had very few toys and the only bike I owned as a child was built by my oldest brother out of parts from garbage dumps. She was yellow so I called her Daisy. Oh and don't mention school shopping! Woo that put a smile on my face because that meant I got my one pair of new shoes for the year. Although I was never transported to a meadow full of sunflowers, they were my version of ruby slippers.

Oh and can you guess one of our favorite times in my home? I'm guessing it's probably the same for many of you--meal time! We had a lot of special days that our Mom let us have breakfast food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As a child, you're thinking cool! Our friends are not this lucky! Hey we even went camping. Homemade quilts piled on the porch where my brothers and I can lay and look up at the stars and listen to crickets. Don't worry. We packed plenty of ideal camping food--cheese puffs, Oreos, orange soda or koolaid. [I didn't say it was healthy. ok?]

We had many many other adventures, but I'll save those for another day. :-) My point: My happy truth was that my childhood was an adventure. We were special, because we could do what most other children could not. We had everything that we needed.  That is my truth and I was happy with it. But I almost let it slip away....

I went away to college on a full scholarship. We had a girls' night on my dorm floor where we shared about our personal lives.  Afterwards, one of the girls came to my room. She said, "Trinka, I apologize. I didn't know you were poor." What??!! I was what? I'm sure I said I wasn't poor. She obviously went on talking. I saw her mouth moving. Then, she hugged me, with pity, and left. I sat down confused. I didn't understand why she would interpret my life as being poor.

Here's the lesson: For a few months (to be honest), I revisited my childhood through her interpretation of my truth. Never let anyone do that to you. Now that I'm older, I know that by socioeconomic standards we were a bit financially challenged. But I was happy! My childhood was filled with adventure. It was necessary for the birthing of my creative spirit!  It was necessary to make me who I am today. Embrace your happy truth and know that it doesn't have to make sense to anyone else! Own it! Live it! Love it!

This is a long post. Thank you so much for reading it. :-)

Comments

  1. @ Trinka - Well-written article on an interesting topic. I enjoy the angle at the end of the story.
    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you Daron for taking the time to visit my blog and comment! I think some of us have spent too much time looking at our lives through others' eyes. So I just wanted to encourage others to embrace their truth.
    Thanks again! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mary Peters2:38 PM

    Well I guess I grew up poor also. I did not have what all the others may have had but I, like you had a different adventure every day. It was my dream land where I was whoever I wanted to be. I can remember getting my moms wooden spoon and putting on concerts with my nephew. We would go and pick plums on the side of the road and bring blackberries home for mom to make a pie. I wouldn't change my life as a child for nothing. Children now of days look at you like you are crazy if you tell them to go outside and play- but that is the first place I would head (after Saturday morning cartoons of course) and stay until it was dark outside. I enjoy reading your blog. Keep up the GREAT work!!!

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