Unconditional Love

‘I don’t have any kids of my own, but I’ve raised over 20 kids in my life time.’

Uncle Jimmy is a regular at Be-Em’s, always order the same dish ‘ Salmon, brown rice and No sauce and an unsweetened tea’ and you would often find him dining with this same young, beautiful lady each and every time (we’ll call her Lady A) . And doing what I do best…lol….my awkward self decided to compliment them that they’re such a sweet couple!😅And it turned out, Jimmy is her uncle ….not by blood, but by choice. We had a good laugh and as I walked them out that day, Uncle Jimmy casually shared ‘I used to marry to a Vietnamese woman, that’s why I love Asian food. And you know, even though I have no kids of my own, but I’ve raised over 20 kids in my lifetime.’

‘Many years ago, I was runnng out of Bi-Lo as it was pouring down, I saw a young lady standing in the rain crying. I was 27 at that time, I told myself to just go and not be nosy. Just go Jimmy, just go home! But I couldn’t, I got into my car, then got out and ran back to the girl. ‘Are you ok? Can I help you with anything?’

(And this young lady, I shall name her Lady B). She said ‘ I work at Bi-Lo, but my family moved across town and they can’t pick me up from work and I don’t have a way home.’ The young uncle Jimmy consoled her and offered to give her a ride home …but here, take my driver license, my tag, my phone number and bring it to your manager. In case anything were to happen, they know where to find me. And that’s the beginning of their friendship….every now and then, Lady B would call him for a ride home from work . And one time, when he dropped her off, the family actually came out and asked him ‘Can Lady B live with you? We just don’t have the mean to take care of her. Would you take her in?’ And just like that, with some paper work in place, Uncle Jimmy became her guardian.

Lady B finished her HS years and moved on with her life. Many years later, when Uncle Jimmy was talking to his coworker, Lady A…and as she opened up her Facebook, Uncle Jimmy saw Lady B on her page!

*Uncle Jimmy: Hey, how do you know Lady B?

*Lady A: Yes, that’s my sister!

*Uncle Jimmy: Oh my gosh, I raised lady B!

*Lady A: Noooooo, you’re the Jimmy that raised my sister, the one she talked about all the time !

They hugged, cried a little, and since then, Uncle Jimmy had another niece and more great nieces and nephews added to his family tree , Lady A and all her kiddos.

This is just one of the many childs Uncle Jimmy raised in his life time, he was the neighbor that would take in the neighborhood kids when their mom was too drunk to feed them, worked too much to have time for them, or just all the random reasons in the world….they all came to Uncle Jimmy’s house. All of them are grown ups now, but they still keep in touch with their Uncle Jimmy and even brought their kids to visit the man that used to raise them many years ago.

The next time you visit Be-Em, you might spot Uncle Jimmy and Lady A catching up over lunch at one of their fav booths🥰