Jamie Ross rises before the sun every morning and drives 10 minutes to the only job she’s ever had.  ///  On this day, Ross is inside the Dana Road Elementary School kitchen before 6 a.m., where she’ll be preparing breakfast and lunch for around 1,100 hungry students.

Her warm smile seems to loosen up the cold confines of the kitchen, and she throws around the words “baby” and “sweetheart” to her fellow cafeteria workers with a gentle twang.
This has been the only job she’s ever had because never before did she have to work. Until now, that is.
Ross married her husband at 16 and was a permanent housewife until 2000, when he was horrifically shot defending their daughter from a violent ex-son-in-law. With him unable to continue his construction job, Ross knew what had to be done.
“You gotta eat,” she said smiling.
So Jamie Ross went to work.
At 6:23 a.m., the area is abuzz with workers darting around the kitchen preparing breakfast. Normally breakfast is prepped in advance, but the day before was turkey and dressing lunch — the busiest time of the year for school cafeteria workers. This morning seems like an off day in comparison.
Ross jokes with her co-workers as she gingerly places sticks of French toast on a large metal pan. She takes the job seriously. These are, after all, her “babies.”

“My grandson used to go here when he was little and he called me Mimi,” she said. “Now all the children call me that.”
Mimi is dressed in all brown with a net and clips that effectively bunch up her silver hair. It’s impossible not to notice the fact that a smile hasn’t left her face from the moment she walked in the door. Two pieces of French toast are connected together to form one jackpot of a find for the student lucky enough to get it.
“Somebody’ll be happy to get that,” she says as she giggles to herself and places it on the pan.
The perpetually pleasant Ross attributes her attitude to her faith. Through all the worldly trials and tribulations, her belief in God has been the one constant.
“Some people think I’m crazy,” she joked about her happiness. “But God will provide. As long as I’ve got him at home, that’s all that matters.”
The three 12-pound boxes of FarmRich French toast sticks have been unwrapped and readied for cooking. The cafeteria just received new ovens that have the workers delighted, and the toast is about to be one of the appliance’s many victims.

She’ll now start working on the spicy chicken sandwiches, one of the children’s favorite meals, while breakfast is being cooked.
Ross continues to smile and laugh and crack jokes with her friends in the kitchen as she unfurls a clear packet of chicken patties. It’s what gets her through the times when she feels like doing the exact opposite.
“I’ve cried so many tears,” she said. “I just want to laugh.”