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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2017 01:31AM by clinen11.

PS the business casual clothes/suit I had on only cost me something crazy like $0.06 because I had a $20 off my first purchase coupon on a second hand thrift shop online.. and they had free shipping + 75-99% off select items that were non-returnable.

My hair was self fixed into a french braid, the makeup I wore was organic, all natural, hippie dippie items I received with coupons, from giveaways, and using ExtraBucks, and I did my own french manicure with free polish and stickers I was given.

My grandpa was a sharecropper.

I remember being 16 and using the outhouse...cooking on a wood-burning stove...slaughtering hogs...hunting deer, squirrel...eating baked 'possum, hedgehog, and many MANY meals of cold baked sweet potatoes.

My oldest son is in business for himself...my younger son lives in San Francisco, and does something in tech...my daughter is a nurse.

I think I had one manicure in my life. It's been at least 10 years since I went to a hair salon, and that was for my daughter's wedding.

I hear ya!

You should be proud of yourselves! I would much rather be stuck on a desert island with someone who knows how to prepare a "from scratch" meal over a wood fire than some broad with her "shiny shoes, slick dress, and catlike finger nails" who is likely starve to death while she worries about breaking a nail. Isn't it ironic that the person BEHIND THE COUNTER comes from a well-to-do family, yet the person whom she is mocking is THE CUSTOMER?! That fool doesn't sign your paycheck--don't waste another minute worrying about what she thinks!

I just can't believe how rude people are to total strangers....who the hell is she to make assumptions about someone she doesn't even know?
You'd never know my childhood story, and I mean NEVER, from looking at me, talking to me, or watching me with my friends or my son. I doubt I'm the only person out there who today is nothing like where/what/how she came from.
I don't assume I know @#$%& about what anybody else has experienced either.

BTW, your story is awesome! I wish I knew how to do all the things you grew up doing. Those are valuable skills!

I think that you are awesome and it sounds like you have learned how to take care of yourself from the way that you were raised. I feel so badly for what I take for granted. I guess you just do not want to believe that people are still forced to live so humbly. I really applaud you.

I have come across so many rude people, lately. I just do not understand why?? Why be mean and rude to someone that you do not even know? I would just never!

To me you sound very accomplished. My husband grew up in a similar manner, but he is 72

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2017 01:33AM by clinen11.

LeslieKay, I agree. So much self-absorption, nonsense-absorption, etc. I agree with prince, too! clinen, you've brought yourself into a better lifestyle, yet don't seem to scurry after unnecessary things. Contentment is something I greatly admire in others. I am truly blessed, but I sense you are, as well, with your disposition and good attitude. May great things happen to you in 2017.

We're happy to have our little 650ish sq ft, wi-fi, cellphone service, hourly jobs, and cats I don't usually have people over because we're so cramped and simple but we're both working and no longer on farm land like our families. Still, I definitely say YES when there is fresh cow butter, duck eggs, bantam eggs, hen eggs, canned goodies, milk, buttermilk, homemade "pone", homemade jams, and garden produce to be passed my way

That's pretty awesome, clinen. I once lived on a sailboat. Not nearly as glamorous as it sounds and it wasn't very comfortable to sleep on, but I saw a lot of amazing things. I ate a lot of fish that year, LOL. I love fish but that year I grew a little tired of it.

Haha. Often, glamorous isn't what we're in it for I imagine it's kind of like living in an RV. It's nifty, but cramped and different and limited.

For sure. How I got there was the sad and hard part, but I survived and overcame the obstacles that led me down that path. I did have a comfy childhood, unlike you, but I learned what it was like to live meagerly as a young adult. I am doing well now and am happy. Glad you are too

Grammar comes with practice as well as sentence structure. I have to watch myself. When I am tired I fall into Spanish grammar and structure in English. Leave out subjects.

You should share more experiences more often. Wear them as a badge of pride. Better yet, help those of your generation deprived of experiences such as you had growing up. It does seem to connect one to the past.

I've been discussing setting up a primitive camp on a couple of my farms in Costa Rica. I like programs that show young people learning skills such as noodling. I remember my summer of noodling. No one told me about using a stick to make sure there were no snakes up the hole.

Clinen11,
I am 63 years old, and also grew up very poor...my mom was on welfare because our dad took off on the 4 of us kids. We all made it through, but I can SO relate to many of the ways in which you grew up. I think you are wonderful...all you have gone through has made, and will continue to make you an even more wonderful and resourceful person. You will DEFINITELY make it in this life NO MATTER WHAT life throws at you! I wish I knew you personally! God bless you!

clinen11, there will always people who feel the need to be snobs. My grandmother always told me that those type of people were to be ignored because they were projecting what they felt was lacking in their own lives. .

I attended a private and what is still considered a prestigious high school. The popular girls had parents who were mucky mucks in the tire industry, owned car dealerships, etc. I was never a member of the popular group. I'll never forget when I was laughed at for trying to run for office in my high school. I was devastated with the ridicule from the girls who's parents lived in the mansions on the way to school.

My friends told me I should have told everyone what my parents owned, because the parents of the rich kids didn't own what my parents had. I said no. Class is based on your confidence, your willingness to work hard and volunteer work. It was not and never is supposed to be someone owns more than you, lives in a fancier neighborhood.

You have skills that people would pay money for in big cities. You have a work ethic, that responsible schedulers need and reward.

Let me put this in terms that may or may not make sense. A few years back, I was waiting for my tires to be rotated. I was knitting socks. A couple of young ladies, who's verbal grammar was atrocious made some snarky remarks. The gentleman sitting across from me made a point of saying I wish I was doing something productive other than reading the paper. I responded with if I could grab the Wall Street Journal from your hands right now, I'd be reading it. We smiled and giggled. The two young ladies thought we were old and continued to text and play games on their phones.

DO NOT! I mean it DO NOT!, allow anyone to make you feel you're not better than they are.

PS, I buy all my clothes on clearance, thrift shops or make them. Saving money is a good thing.

Clinen11,
I would also like to add that you have a skill for writing in that you really put yourself into what you wrote. I found it so interesting to read all that you went through growing up. Someday I hope you consider seriously writing a book about your upbringing....I can see it even as another "Waltons"-type show....I found it so interesting! And you will be able to survive when others cannot. You are special.

YES, I was thinking the same thing. You are a phenomenal writer!

Okay, I had to look up "bantam." :/

You are more self sufficient than the majority of the population. You will always appreciate and enjoy things more than the average person. Most people would rather judge other people instead of improving themselves. You are miles ahead of most.

I definitely learned a lot growing up and there is much more I could stand to learn. I love hearing the stories of my grandparents and parents (mom+stepdad) but they also make me sad. Sometimes I have little dilemmas and it's amazing the ideas my mom and grandma can come up with off the tops of their heads. I hope that I can be that witty at their age(s). I'm not big on hand washing if I can avoid it these days, but I still love to sun dry my clothes and blankets.

I'll admit I'm addicted to my tech these days. My mom bought me a Kindle after me begging her not to spend the money and I love it! I didn't think it would be as nice as a book, but I'm enjoying it too much. I've read 12-14 books this month, alone. I also find myself on YouTube a lot. It's great for when I want to learn new crochet patterns, macrame, or clay designs for my crafting. I've also been working with a wood burner and trying to learn to wire wrap. Coworkers call me a modern day hippie or a young grandma

Oh, and Bantam You may hear it called a "bainy" or a "banty"

My mom realized that she had made a poor choice with my biological father and I was her only one. The same thing happened with my boyfriend. He's an only kiddo too.

clinen, LOL, I had to read what you wrote about hand washing three times to make sure I understood it correctly before the lightbulb went off and I realized you were talking about clothes. At first I thought you were saying you didn't like to wash your hands, blahahahahahahaha!

I'm great about washing my hands. It's hand washing the clothes that I don't care much for. I usually hand wash the undergarments after they have piled up and nothing is left to wear! I'm happy with the indoor washing machine. I'm also happy to have an electric 220 stove.

There are people who don't like handwashing though.

I'm used to seeing grungy hands around here. Coal miners, laborers, and mechanics are notorious for grabbing a bite when they can sneak in a break and who has time to wash their hands on a 30 minute lunch break?

There's no way that someone as intelligent as you would not be washing their hands. That's why I had to read it three times to sink in. And I know people who don't like to wash their hands, too. It creeps me out when they invite me over for dinner, LOL.

When my first cousin and I go out anywhere, she loves when she lets me push the stroller because I'm so blunt with strangers. I will put the canopy up over him (he's only a few weeks old! He's new, don't get him dirty) and when someone touches the stroller or tries to dive their face into his canopy, I have no qualms asking them when the last time they washed their hands was or what the last thing they held or touched was. I know he needs to get some germs and build up his immune system, but not through grandma's disgusting fingernails or kitty litter hands. I'm mean.

No, you're not mean.

Positively, absolutely not mean! When my SIL was pregnant it was all I could do not to slug people that tried to rub her belly.
When my niece was born, I was even more fierce.

@clinen1 1 wrote:

(he's only a few weeks old! He's new, don't get him dirty)

Hahahaha!

Have you read "The Glass Castle" by chance? It's more of an autobiography about how a woman came from beyond meager means to living in a penthouse in NYC. It was a great read and sounded similar to your story. Good on you for holding calm when the cashier made those comments. We all have stories, how can someone guess ours from one glance?!