Jimmi-Jean, at the age of three, lost her mother in a car accident. This was devastating. But that the age of three she said she didn’t really understand.
She has two older brothers and an older sister. These three siblings were the ones who helped her through the first year.
When she was at the funeral, people come up to her, condoning her for her loss. She was only three years old. She didn’t have a good idea of what was going on. Jimmi-Jean was told her mother was on a work trip. “Jimmi-Jean’s Aunt Kathy came up to her and said “How are you doing sweetie? Will you be okay? Would you like to know where your mother is?” Jimmi-Jean relpied “I will be fine, my mom is just on a work trip.” Two weeks went by and her mother still hadn’t returned.
Jimmi-Jean was upset. Her brothers and sister were getting ready to move out. Not one at a time, but all at once. They were triplets. Age of 22 years-old.
On her mother’s birthday just eight days later, she was given a doll from her grandmother. This was not an ordinary doll. This was Jimmi-Jean’s mother’s doll when she was a child. She said this was the best gift she had ever received.
When Jimmi-Jean would go to bed at night she would need three things: her blanket her mother had crochet her, the doll she had been given, and a large piece of Bubble Yum! She would not fall asleep until she had something to take her mind off of her mother.
Jimmi-Jean’s father helped the family through the loss of their mother. “When the going gets tough the tough get going,” Jimmi-Jean said.
Two months after her mother had passed away, it was just her and her father. She was going on with life. She remembers having babysitters come over after preschool.
After her mother had passed her father had brought a woman into her life. She was rude and always fought with her father. Her step-mother tried to pawn her off to her siblings, so she wouldn’t have to take care of her. She would also lock her into the closet to get her away from her. “My mean step mother was a piece of work,” says Jimmi-Jean.
Through her life, she says, she has experienced a million things. And that’s the reason why she is so strong now.