For Jennifer

 I met Jennifer when she was a baby in a car seat. I was dating her dad's best friend, and I spent a lot of time with them, us as 2 couples and the baby, Jennifer. When I discovered that my man friend, enjoyed the company of more than one woman, we broke up and I didn't think I would see the baby again. So, it was to my surprise when Jennifer and her brother and their parents moved in across the street! 

Jenn was 5 and my daughter was 3, they became fast friends! And stayed friends for the next 30 years, my daughter is now 34 and Jenn would have been 37 this year. But on April 28, 2026, Jennifer was found dead on the floor by her bed. 

But first let's go back...

I spent many years babysitting Jennifer and her little brother. They would all be at my house or at their house. We never really had trouble out of them, well except for one thing, which I will get to later. They were good kids, did all the things that kids do... ride bikes, play in the dirt... chase the ice cream man! 

Life was good! 

But then Jenns parents started fighting, a lot... because her dad was drinking hard liquor a lot and turning into a (meanasshole), a beast. After the kids graduated the parents got a divorce and the dad moved back to west Texas with his extended family. But by this time both of the kids were gay. Well, Jenn had a couple boyfriends when she was a kid but in her adult years, she was so gay. Now, how does that happen!?! I have a theory, I feel like the kids saw all that fighting and they decided they weren't going to do that! Plus, society has accepted it as ok. 

The brother moved in with an older man and Jenn and her mom moved into an apartment.

Many times, the mom would come over and cry, 'she would never have any grandchildren'. I felt so very sad, with 8 grandchildren of my own, I know exactly what she's missing! 

And she loved her daughter Jennifer very much! They were very close.

After a few years, the dad died. No one was surprised. The way he drank, the things he ate.

Jennifer got a job at an auto parts store. She was an excellent employee. Her mother worked for Walmart. Life went on... then her brother died of a drug overdose! He was so young in his early 20's Jenn and her mother were devastated. A real hard time for them. Jenn started drinking and it was getting worse. She ended up in the hospital with liver issues, and they thought she was going to die. Her mother lived at the hospital when she wasn't working. We were all praying. 

Miracle of miracles she survived! She started having some hip problems and soon became dependent on a cane. And her mother retired. They lived well for a time... 

And then one day in 2024 Jenn woke up and found her mother dead in the bed. 

She started drinking again. Every time we talked on the phone, she cried and made her little confession, and I told her she was not supposed to be drinking. But she knew that. 

One day not long ago, probably around 2 or 3 months ago, Jenniffer called me, I am like a second mother to her, and I thank GOD I was there for her... she was crying very hard telling me that her cat had died... and she couldn't find her mother's cat. Both cats were almost 15 years old. She was pretty upset and only settled down when I told her we could bury him in my backyard. Her old male friend went over to get the cat and found her mother's cat also dead in the kitchen cabinet, so they were both brought over to be buried, and they had a little thing out there. 

And then Jennifer was alone. 

Something told me she wouldn't last long being alone. We talked about her coming to live here, but she had her mother's money and said she would come when she ran out of money to pay the rent. 

The last 2 years she never touched her mother's room. She kept it just like her mom left it. Oh, she talked about renting it out, but that never happened. 

And then the same male friend who buried the cats said he couldn't get hold of her. He tried to call my daughter, but she was busy. He tried to get the apartments to do a well check but they wouldn't because they needed the occupant's family's permission. Well, he got on his way to her and that's when she was found. It was the police who called my daughter next because the man friend knows my daughter. And my daughter called me sobbing in hysterics. Told me the police said Jennifer was deceased. 

She had drunk herself to death. She was yellow, and my daughter walked in on that. 

Wasn't it Socrates who said, "An unexamined life is not worth living"... ???

And all I can think is, had she followed GOD she would not have died alone.

She would have had a husband and his family and probably children to give her life meaning. 

But they all are now gone, she was the last. It gives my heart pain that she didn't know Jesus. Because if she had, her whole life would have been different. Kinder, longer. 

She was just 36.

Now it's my daughter who is cleaning out the apartment. Finding old family treasures. Pictures of the kids when they were kids. She's bringing so much stuff to our garage. And my daughter will be bringing the ashes home of Jennifer and her mom and her brother. And we'll figure out a place to spread their ashes together. A really hard thing for my daughter. 

Will y'all pray for my daughter, Kathryn... AKA Jennifers best friend.

GOD Bless US, Everyone! IJCNA