Thinking of Jennifer

I miss Jennifer...I was talking to Wendy the other night, recalling some of the things Jennifer did when she was young. One I remember so well was that she loved to stand out on our concrete picnic table and sing before her invisible audience. She could care less if we were watching or not, she was in her own little world, one where she was the star and totally happy. Well, then I was not as understanding as I am now, and I was a bit of tease. I would call out to her and tell her "Jennifer...telephone". She would climb down from her stage and anxiously run into the house excited that someone was calling her. Now mind you, I didn't even remove the phone from the receiver, but yet she still picked it up and said "hello?". Of course, there was no one there, but she would try one more time..."hello?", then hang up. Well, that was too much fun for me...so about 10 minutes later, I would do it again, and then again, calling her to the phone approximately 4 or 5 times before she would no longer acknowledge me. Needless to say, that was not the end...I continued to play that little prank on her for the entire summer vacation, and yet, she fell for it time after time.

Another memory I have of Jennifer is her diligence in taking notes of my bad deeds and reporting to mom. She kept a little notebook and anytime Kay or I did anything bad to her or Wendy, she would right it down and say, "I am going to tell mom". I think mom just humored her and read her notes, but I don't recall ever getting into real trouble because of Jennifers documentation.

During the time we lived in Troy, NC, Wendy had tied some yarn around Jennifers neck to pretend that she was a dog. I was the oldest one at home at the time and I was only 10 years old. The yarn had tightened around Jennifer's neck so much that she was having a difficult time breathing. We didn't have a phone at the time, and the nearest neighbor was approx. 1/4 mile away. I ran as fast as I could to the neighbors to get some help, I had no idea what else to do. They quickly drove me back to the house, and by that time, Kay I believe had cut the string. I had tried that earlier, but it was so tight around her neck I wasn't able to get anything between it and her neck. Thankfully, all turned out well.

Jennifer loved to sing, she was always singing and performing. She had the most loving and beautiful spirit of anyone you would ever meet. She was very innocent and naive, and being an older sibling, I totally took advantage of it.

I always felt that Jennifer was a bit spoiled, not only by mom, but by Kay and Wendy who totally doted on her. I think that is why Jennifer took so long to do things, she never had to, they were always done for her. Wendy would lay out her clothes for school, Kay would mother her from the time Jennifer was a baby. Jennifer never really needed to learn how to do anything for herself, which was not for her best good later in life.

I miss Jennifer so much, she had such a beautiful spirit, loved everyone. She never found fault in anyone, but always looked for the best. She had a very strong testimony and so much faith, more than I ever have. She was such an example of self-sacrifice, as she would do anything for her children.