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Walking into the unlocked house of the owner of a security alarm company, without knocking, to see dogs running around as if they are playing fetch, and an unseen girl yelling “MOM!” to a woman who is not her mom.

This is the norm for Virginia “Ginni” Jeglie, a colorful person, both in word choice and personality. For someone who makes her living installing security alarm systems (Allison Alarm Technologies), she is one of the most open people I have ever met. She is really easy to talk to, has a sense of humor that rivals most stand up comedians and no subject is off the record. She is an interviewer’s dream.

Constantly multitasking, with a cell phone that never stops ringing, and a house phone that is only one call behind the cell, she made time for the interviews...even though she was cooking dinner during them.

The 52-year-old single mother of three is a person who teenagers feel comfortable talking to about anything and everything. She is like that cool uncle you hear about; the one you can talk to about things you do not feel comfortable telling your parents.

She has obtained this reputation by always having an open door, both literally and metaphorically, and because of her no holds bard personality and sense of humor, which teenagers can relate to.

Jeglie just has a unique way of making people feel comfortable, welcomed and listens in a way that makes it feel like everything being said is of the utmost importance to her. This sounds like an amazing and envious quality to have, and why wouldn’t it be? But according to Jeglie and her family, it can become a problem.

Jeglie currently has a high school senior, who wished to remain anonymous, living with her because this girl’s family kicked her out of their house. This girl was told by her friend to call Jeglie. Jeglie, having never met this girl before, went and picked her up and offered to let her stay in her house.

It has now been over a month with this girl living at Jeglie’s house. What is the problem with this situation? Jeglie never asked her children how they felt about letting this girl stay with them, and if they were okay with it.

Jeglie has two boys, Travis and Jared, and one girl, Paige. Travis and Jared are both from Jeglie’s marriage that ended in 1996. Paige, the youngest at 12, is from a serious relationship Jeglie had, but she never married the father. Travis, 20, goes to school in Los Angeles, and, therefore, does not have to live with this new house guest. Jared and Paige do.

Jared, an 18-year-old college freshman, has been the most effected by this girl, and within the first minute of being at Jeglie’s house I completely understood where he was coming from. This girl is loud and makes everything seem twice as dramatic than it really is. Jared, who has his mother’s openness and humor, openly does not like his new housemate.

When asked how he feels about her, Jared said frankly, “I can’t stand her, she is the most annoying person on planet Earth.”

A couple weeks ago Jared and this girl had a huge confrontation where Jeglie took the side of the girl and not her son. Jared said he wanted to move out after this episode because he felt his mother was putting this girl before him.

This girl is not the first troubled teen Jeglie has taken in; however, with the previous one, Jeglie asked Jared if he was okay with it. Jeglie admits she made a mistake by not asking her children if they were okay with this girl staying with them.

“I never asked them how they [Jared and Paige] felt about it,” Jeglie said, “and that was my mistake because I never want them to feel I am putting anyone before them.”

This is just how Jeglie is and always has been. Jared knows that, and loves his mom for it no matter how annoyed he may get at times.

“In all honesty, it doesn’t really matter that my mom didn’t asked me if I was okay with her staying here because I would’ve have been,” Jared said. Jeglie’s helping hand must run in the family.

That helping hand reaches into Jeglie’s professional life as well, as she is the owner and founder of her own small business, Allison Alarm Technologies. Jeglie worked in the security alarms business for 10 years before taking the advice of her clients who encouraged her to start her own business.

With a clientele built solely on word of mouth, Jeglie has over 250 clients, each of which she proudly claims she knows by voice. However, with the economy being where it is she has suffered tremendously. She constantly worries about how she is going to be able to keep her house, support her family and keep her business running.

“I worry about it all day everyday,” Jeglie said.

So with all of her financial trouble, why would Jeglie bring more people in her house to support? If you ask her she will tell you it is because she is deranged, and yes, it may not have been the smartest decision, but it was the compassionate decision. She just wants to help.

Lynn Watanabe, Jeglie’s best friend of 20 plus years, summed up Jeglie, as a whole, the best. “She may not always make the right, or best decisions, but at the end of the day it’s always all about her kids,” Watanabe said.

Walking out of the unlocked house I began to realize the unlocked door was a perfect metaphor for Jeglie’s personality and heart. Open to anyone, and willing to help everyone. And as she stood in her driveway waving goodbye, I had to catch myself as I almost yelled “Goodbye MOM!”, to a woman who is not my mom.