Marine dreams of opening a bakery after life of foster care, homelessness
The kitchen has been Rebecca Adamson’s sanctuary for as long as she can remember.
As a foster child who lived with three different families before being adopted by a couple in Omaha, Neb., the 31-year-old Austin mother of three has always considered the kitchen her safe place.
Her biological father died, and she doesn't know her birth mother's whereabouts. She’s blocked out a lot of the painful memories and focused on the things that brought her peace and joy.
“I was always baking,” Adamson said, lighting up at the sheer mention of it. “I was always in the kitchen when my mom was making dinner. And I gravitated to desserts. My mom passed that off to me.”
The Watkins Adamson family is part of the Statesman’s Season for Caring program, which is in its 25th year and helps hundreds of families each year through local nonprofits. The family was nominated by Foundation Communities, which provides affordable housing.
Read more: Marines try to rebuild their lives after skirting homelessness | Season for Caring 2023
Baking has been Adamson's passion. She joined the Marines and served in warehouse supply for 4½ years to help pay for culinary school. She dreams of opening a bakery. She'd love to start with a food truck.
She and her 34-year-old Marine fiancé, Chris Watkins, met in Austin in 2015 when Watkins befriended Adamson and helped her out at a time when she had temporarily lost her car and most of her cash. One shared pizza led to an eight-year dating relationship and an engagement in 2020. They are hopeful they can afford a wedding next summer. She’s already picked out her dress.
They have endured more than their share of hardships. That includes a year of homelessness, three more years with stays in three hotels and three months in a tiny, 65-square-foot shed that sits behind his father’s house in Hutto.
“It was tough,” recalls Adamson, who was pregnant with her second child at the time and sleeping on a wooden couch.
Learn more: 12 families featured in the 25th Season for Caring program. Here's how you can help.
Adamson is accustomed to adversity. She has degenerative arthritis in her lower spine, anxiety disorder and depression. She had to stop working because of the constant pain that stems from an injury to her back during Marine boot camp at Parris Island in South Carolina.
She and Watkins now live in a cramped apartment in North Austin with their 8-year-old son, Leon Adamson; their 2-year-old, curly-haired daughter, Keiko Watkins; 1-year-old Lucas Watkins; and two dogs, Princess and Hunter.
They rely on his salary, but a contract with Applied Materials recently ended and won't start again until February. The veterans disability income Adamson receives and driving for a food delivery service are keeping the family afloat.
When she can, Adamson heads to the kitchen and starts baking. It’s always been what she’s truly loved.
She took every cooking class her high school offered. She perfected lemon bars, which were her adopted dad Mark’s favorite.
“I’d make the whole pan just for him,” she said.
She worked for a time as a chef for Great American Cookies but had to quit because of her back pain and trouble lifting the 15-pound boxes of frozen dough.
She’s already conjured up a name for her future bakery and can’t wait to patent it — “Rebecca’s Sweet Treats.” She’s even designed a logo character with a chef’s hat.
“You have to have the chef’s hat,” she said.
Watkins will vouch for her soft chocolate chip cookies and knows to give her space when she’s cooking.
“Being in the kitchen quiets my mind,” she said. “No one’s allowed in my kitchen. I kick everybody out.”
On the Watkins Adamson family's wish list is a new KitchenAid mixer. The family also needs help paying bills and back debt, a washer and dryer, clothes, and help with day care. They'd love a family trip.
To learn more about the family or to donate an item on the wish list, contact Foundation Communities, 737-267-5738, foundcom.org.
About Season for Caring
The Statesman will be sharing the stories of all 12 Season for Caring families throughout the holiday season. Find more stories and information at statesman.com/seasonforcaring. You can donate online or use the coupon on Page 2B and mail it to Austin Community Foundation, c/o Statesman Season for Caring, 4315 Guadalupe St., Suite 300, Austin, TX 78751. Make checks payable to “Statesman Season for Caring.”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Season for Caring Marine dreams of opening a bakery
