Miss Jessy

I visited my girlfriend's blog today.  For almost 4 years she has donned an armour of positivity and surrounded herself with Light Workers as she battles the emotionally dark and draining war of Cancer.  Audrey reminds me today that we need to perceive our life as a gift and live each day immersed in the awesomeness of LOVE.  Yes, it's totally cliche but stripped naked and down to the nitty gritty of things, it's absolutely the TRUTH. 

I have horseshoes up my J-Lo curvalicious ass.  I have been surrounded by love throughout my entire childhood and easily found love in junior high.  I guess if you study the Law of Attraction, this really isn't a surprise as you receive what you put out into this Universe.  So today I will be introducing to the Cyber world my dear friend Jessica.  The Karmic chain reaction is you will fall in love with her as I have and then spend a couple minutes cross-referencing your data bank of eligible, single men to see if you are the gate keeper to perhaps another Happily Ever After.  Remember... don't just observe the world unfold... help create the energy that makes your world rotate.

I was the new student in the school... yet again.  My parents were renters and we moved almost every year from Grade 3 until Grade 7 so I had to quickly grasp the art of making new friends or forever have the horrifying stigma as the "one" that would be picked for not fitting in.  It became a familiar routine.  The first day of every new classroom the teacher would do roll call and totally butcher the pronounciation of my non-White name thereby creating more awareness to my all ready awkward situation.  There would the usual sea of snickers and I would annoyingly stand up and practically yell: It's pronounced "Hung" as in "I hung up the phone" and then I would dramatically glare down the rest of the class.  By now the whispering has subsided because the assertiveness in my voice clearly sends a "I will kick your ass if you even think about making fun of me" signal to the brighter ones.  This survival technique has boded me well even into my later years.

It was Grade 7 at James Whiteside Elementary and my teacher was Mrs. Ticinovic (who by the way has been always one of my favorite ones).  At recess, a quiet brown girl with the longest single braid I have ever seen shyly approaches me and asks me what school I went to before.  Jessica had a big smile and we easily became good friends.  Our bond was our traditional families.  Being Asian, I wasn't allowed the usual permissions of sleeping over or spending great amounts of time loitering at 7-11 or the mall.  Topics such as boys, dying your hair, wearing the big brand names were not subjects that our parents approved of.  There were moments where we both wished we could act like the rest of the hormone walking teenagers but for the most part we enjoyed our extended childhood.  Jessica comes from a family of four siblings and like myself, is the oldest of the brood.  We had the immense pressure of walking the fine line of a blended cultural gap and trying to be the role model to our younger siblings. 

Sometime in junior high I gave up on pleasing my parents and said "Fuck this shit" (I now recognize this behavior as a teenage rite of passage and dread the day my kids do this to me).  I dyed my hair, started secretly dating, climbed out of my window in the middle of the night to go neck with Chris and left my sweet friend behind in my blazing trail.  After graduating high school, I guess the same light bulb went off in Jessica's head.  She too chopped of her long beautiful braid, dyed it crazy blonde, jumped on a cruise ship to work in their Kids Programs and partied hard for several years while seeing the world. 

We met up again in the Facebook world and started a new chapter of our friendship as parents.  Jessica's proudest achievement is her absolutely incredible daughter Jada.  Like her mom, she has a light in her eyes that can brighten up the darkest days.  The first time I met Jada, she bounced towards me with unbridled energy and gave me the biggest smile and the hardest high five.  If you stalked Jessica's Facebook profile you will notice that her entire world rotates around her beautiful Jada.  They constantly do geeky mother daughter things like get pedicures, eat ice cream, wear matching sandals and plan coordinating DIY Halloween costumes.

Jessica also goes by Miss Jessy.  She is a preschool teacher and luckily for this world she falls into the AMAZING breed.  You know, the kind that your children will always remember to their death bed (along with the Pi=3.14) because she has that special quality of connecting with your little one and making them feel like they CAN do WHATEVER they WANT if they put their minds to it?  Or making you feel like you are the ONLY one that matters?  Ya... she's THAT type of amazing.  As a person that does not get anyone less than 3 feet in height (AKA children) I have huge respect for people that enter this field.  Back when I worked at IKEA, I once had to cover a break in Smalland and I vividly remembered having this short, roundish boy come up and demand I play with him.  I blankly looked at him, puzzled at his request and then said, "No, there are other kids here that would love to play with you."  In retaliation to my answer (that he clearly did not agree with) he licked my arm.  Not just a quick little lick... like the entire length of my arm.  At that very moment, I shrivelled up and almost died.  To get licensed for Chris' daycare he had to get a form signed by our family Doctor that proved he was a responsible adult and sound of mind.  I almost peed myself laughing.  Ironically a person is not sound of mind when choosing this delicate profession... yup... in my books you're freaking nuts.  I would rather wrestle alligators in a pit of venomous cobras then man Chris' daycare. 

That being said, anyone that dedicates their life to teaching the most important people in our world holds a very special place of recognition in my books.  Partly because I can't do it and mostly because it's really, really, really hard work.  Naturally Jessica's profession is an extension of her actual personality.  When you are around her you feel like everyday is celebration and her status updates on Facebook always ends in an explanation mark!  If there is a party, Miss Jessy and Jada are most likely to be the center of it.

Other random facts of Miss Jessy.  She has been working out and eating healthy so is in the best shape I have ever seen her since I have known her (PS. I am secretly envious of you).  Jessica is a spicy East Indian who is always looking for the next adventure so will need a man that can keep up with this firecracker.  This woman has a bold style and sports sometimes electric blue and sometimes emerald green contacts. 

I guarantee you the man that falls in love with Miss Jessy will fall harder in love with Jada.  I suspect Jessica's ying to her yang requires a youthful energy and a light perspective on life.  The hardest question about Jessica's day is what flavour of ice cream one should eat.  I bet if Jada got to choose she would say the Rainbow one.