This would be my oldest sibling! As I brainstormed, a little for her I started to realize that these posts are going to probably be a little long, like the previous, "history" ones.
Well, first of all, you gotta give some credit to the oldest sister of 10 children. Growing up, Mom and Dad put a lot of responsibility on the her. She was the babysitter, cook, and maid for several summers and nights while Mom and Dad were off working. You could kind of look at her as a second mom. She was tough on us at times, but she had to be. She will agree that her and I didn't always get along so well at time, but now we are great friends and sisters.
Jessica, was A+ smart. She excelled in everything she did, no matter what it was. Great academics and quite the athlete.
I'll never forget the year she played on the boy's baseball team in Frankenstein. There were no sports to get involved in this little town. There was T-ball for the youngsters, and baseball for the junior high boys. So, Jessica opted in with them. People may have snickered some to see this short little girl play with the boys, but she showed them. She was fast, could hit, and catch the ball. She played to the level right up there with the rest of them. I still remember her in her white ball pants, and baseball cap. What a deal.
As mentioned before, she was a straight A student. My Dad was her principal for all years of her grade schooling and taught her 5th - 8th grade. And as I will agree, it isn't always easy having your Dad with you at school every day as the boss. Then again, there were a lot of fun times too.
I don't remember a lot about her as a child, mainly because I wasn't there yet, or was just a baby myself. But Mom always said how Jessica had to learn to grow up much quicker than the rest of us, because she had to be a helper.
In highschool, she was involved with everything. One thing I admired her for most, was being on the Math team. Yes, you have to be asked to be on that, you can't just sign up. I am a dork, but when I learned she was on that, I always told myself that I would be too. And she was National Honor Society Junior and Senior Year! Yep, I made that a goal too! She also was in the Foreign Language Club, and Track. I don't remember what she ran, but I will never forget her Track photo of her standing in a muscle pose. It was awesome.
She went off to College in Kirksville, what is now Truman State University. She finished in four years!! I'll never forget, cuz when I was graduating highschool, she was graduating college with honors! She went to school to become a teacher and did she ever!
Back to being Athletic: She also followed our Dad by playing College Rugby. Wow, you talk about a crazy sport. People really do tape their ears to their heads so as to not get them ripped off. No joke. She was tough, and played the "Winger". She was good too. We've never been one for height, but you get her the ball to the outside, and she would tear through -it would be rare she wouldn't score! I am pretty sure she played some co-ed games too. Kind of scary!
On a side note: Jessica Ringo was a nickname our Grandpa K gave her. And boy!, Did Jessica Ringo have car problems. Actually she still does, she never gets a break when it comes to a vehicle, dating back to her first car she bought. A little green chevy....not sure what it was, but randomly, I think we had a storm and a branch fell through and broke her windshield. You have to remember, if something went wrong and cost money, you couldn't ask Mom and Dad for it. They didn't have money to spare, so you paid for it yourself. Including insurance, tires, and any other car difficulties you could have. Poor Jessica, still has troubles with her vehicles to this day!! And not minor ones either!
Right after college, she got her teaching license, and then moved to Denver, Colorado to teach. She became a teacher at St. Rose, and a darn good one at that. Ms. K was her name, and her students loved her, why because she cared! One time that we went to visit her, she showed us the school and it looked and smelled like the grade school we attended in Frankenstein except that is was smack dab in the middle of Denver.
I have really admired her for being able to pick up and move everything. Start her life all by herself. All of my other siblings live in MO, and most are still within 20 minutes of my parents house. She definately made her own, and still lives out there. She is a busy bee and is involved in a lot. With school and outside activities. I think one of her favorite being Ultimate Frisbee.
One thing most of all, as mentioned before Jessica is a tough cookie combined with brains, good looks, and stubborness, I don't think you would win in a debate. Actually, if you ask her I don't think she really ever loses to tell you the truth:)! And I can't forget, she is a MAD texter!!! Before they came out with these full keyboards on the phone, she would send you a text in seconds flat, I couldn't figure out how she did it.
She is still a great teacher at a time in this world, when I really don't think it would be very easy to teach the kids of today. Society is a mess, and it really shows through the young adults of today. God Bless her for doing what she does, and being so darn good at it.
Jeh-ca is how most of her nephews and nieces would refer to her. Even though, she lives away, she still makes it to visit for almost every holiday, and it just isn't right on family get togethers when one is missing. She's a pretty cool chick and I admire her so much for being the person she is today. I know I couldn't do it!
So, cheers Jessica!
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