People That Have Had an Impact on My Life

There are many people that have had an impact on my life and influenced me in many different ways. My mother, however, has had the biggest impact on my life, and influenced me more than anyone else. She has had an impact on me since the day I was born, and she still does today. Before I could even talk, I am sure she had an impact on me by the way she took care of me as an infant. My mother has always been a Christian. That has influenced me throughout my whole life. As a baby, my mother had an impact on me. I was little, but I know she still did. When I would cry, she would come and see what I needed. She would change my diaper if it needed changed, or she would feed me if that is what I wanted. If there was something else wrong with me, she would definitely find it out. She would not stop trying until I stopped crying. I remember my mom helping me with homework and volunteering every day when I was in school she was an influence on me throughout my school years. She still to this day influences me through my work, college and my children and in everything I do. If I need her she is there. So as you read her life story you will understand why she is the woman she is and why so many people love and care for her as I do and her family does.

My mother was born on June 20th , 1956 as Julianna Jean Hoffman to a young girl of 15 and young boy of 17 years old. Back then it was not said for a Catholic girl to become pregnant at that young age so her mother had to get go out of state and get married.

The marriage was rocky from the start, so my father was not home a lot. I barely remember him being home except when my mom was pregnant. He would stay a while then he was gone. When he was home there was a lot of fighting, yelling, and even throwing stuff. My mom would even try and commit suicide. The police was called a lot. My mom would go out with a lot of men and bring them home and we knew them as our uncles. When she went out I would watch my 2 brothers and sister.

One night my mom told me to watch the kids as usual , it was June 16,1965, she decide to go out that night and told to watch the boys and the baby . My sister was 15 months old and the boys were 5 and 3 and I was 7, a few days before my 8th birthday. She told me before she left something I never forgot. "Always take care of the kids for me". That was the last thing she ever said to me. I never saw her again. She went out with her boyfriend and never came back. The next day there was a knock on the door. It was the police and my uncle, I looked at them while I had my sister in my arms and said " She is dead isn't she' and closed the door. I have no idea how I knew but I knew. Maybe all the times I saw her trying to kill herself or listening to her. She was never there for us, either was my dad. My grandparents looked in on us now and then but basically we were on our own. I was the only mother those kids had. Now I had to protect them. They always were my kids. I had to fend for them to eat. I went to the neighbors for food. I don't ever remember having Christmas, Easter or a birthday. Everything with the adults was fights and I was the only one there for the kids. I did not realize I was a kid too. Even though I was a child I learned quickly that I had to provide for my brothers and sister. I did not know what it was to play and be a little girl, I had a responsibility. Now with my mother gone I needed to find a plan. Where were we going to go? Well everyone was fighting on who was going to get custody of us, what if my dad tried to take us everyone was saying. So I gathered up the kids and ran away and hid. No one was going to separate us. We had what we needed we had each other.

Several days later my dad came there was a fight as usual but he was our father so after the funeral we went with him to Florida. My dad remarried in a year, my stepmom hated us. It was even more of a problem because I had epilepsy. The first thing I was not allowed to talk about my mother and I missed her so much. My hair was long I could sit on it and my stepmom cut it up past my ears. Our life became a hell. I was no longer allowed to take care of my sisters and brothers. We were only allowed in our room and outside not in any other part of the house, only when it was time to eat dinner then we were not allowed to talk. If it rained outside we went in the garage or a little building my dad had built. In the morning I got the kids ready for school so not to bother my stepmom. We had one big bowl of cornflakes and shared it. We never ate lunch at school sometimes our friends would share with us. Other times we just sat quietly. We knew better then to talk about to anyone about what went on at home. On the weekends