I was so embarrassed! It was the same thing every summer when we went on our family vacation. So, I knew exactly why they were all staring. Who wouldn't laugh and stare as our ancient, rusty, blue and white striped, 15-passenger van that looked like it was about to fall apart, with our huge camper hooked to the back, drove by? With bike racks holding several bikes each, hooked to both the front of the van and back of the camper, and different colored and designed blankets hanging in every window, except the front two, to block the glare from the sun on the TV screen, they couldn't help but point. Then, if they were lucky, they'd get a glimpse inside, of the wooden stand my dad had put together, that one viewer described as "the wooden electric chair," to hold our 1970's television up on the cluttered front seat, and the TV barely held on by bright hunter orange baling twine from my grandpa's farm. All the while Disney songs blasting from the TV as all ten kids were crammed like sardines in the back three rows of the van!
It was moments like this that made me wonder why I had to have been born as the seventh of ten kids. I had always wanted to be an only child, or one of only two children. In fact, at precisely 7:26am each morning, I thought this as I waited in line to use one of the two showers in my house. Also, due to the unfortunate fact that there are only four bedrooms in my house, I have always shared my room. From two to four other girls in the same room, I've never had the privilege of alone time in my room, whether to have some time to myself, read a book in silence, or to have privacy to simply change clothes. So, I've grown to appreciate time to myself, but at the same time, too much quiet time makes me uncomfortable.
My clothes. Where had they come from? Who had they previously been owned by? Whether it be a neighbor, some giving family in the ward who felt we needed monthly donations, cousins, my older sisters, or even the...