Wada Legacy

As stated in the past, one of the benefits of having Jeff at home is that he helps out with Jared. He drives him to school, checks up on his homework, monitors his computer usage and even put parental controls on the tv in his (Jeff's) room. Jared is the typical 3rd child that has to follow in his brothers' footsteps. In his case it is more like good cop, bad cop with Jeff and Jordan. He often reaps benefits from his brothers, but then occasionally rebels. For example as with his brothers, he is called "Wada" at school by both the students and faculty. For some reason that bothers him as he prefers Jared.

You would think the span of 6 and 8 years difference in age between him and his brothers would be to his advantage. Apparently not. Most of his teachers remember Jeff and Jordan. Most of the time that is positive and he is coerced into living up to or exceeding his brothers past impressions.

In band, he is know as Little Wada. When Jordan was in his senior year and the Drum Major, the summer after graduation the band went to Europe for 2 weeks. Auntie Judy took Jared on the tour with Jordan and the band. Therefore the freshmen of that year remember him as Little Wada. Those freshmen are now seniors. Just when Jared thought he had made it through to a point of establishing himself outside of the shadow of Jordan came the last football game.

For those of you not familiar with Marching Band, they perform at competitions as well as at all home football games during half time. The tradition at West is at the last home game, any former Drum Major gets a turn at leading the band. Now when Jordan was Drum Major, he made his impression in many ways. One was his conducting during the performance. He would climb onto a stand that was like a 8' step ladder with a thin rail in front of him just below his waist. As he conducted, his whole body and the stand would sway with the rhythm. At each performance Gayle and I would worry the stand would collapse or tip over.

As Jordan got up to conduct at the last football game, they were chanting "Wada". Jordan quickly resumed his Drum Major demeanor and proceeded to conduct the band in what is hard to describe. He not only swayed with the rhythm, but it turned into a semi dance performance in front of the band and football crowd. Up until this time, the band's performance was pretty passive. But they quickly picked up the pace and had a lot of fun with the music. You can see it on You Tube (Jordan Wada Conducting), but you will notice that the person recording it was laughing so hard, it is hard to see. A better version is on Jordan's Facebook page.

Gayle and I went from "Uh Ohhhh" to bending in laughter. Of course the expression from Jared's face was familiar. From that point on, Jared's fate was sealed until he graduates at West high as "Little Wada".

No news is good news

As the saying goes, you have not heard from me for a few months. Time to catch up.
The important stuff: Jeff is doing fine. He is still at the plateau, but looking good. He walks with a cane, but around the house I find them laying around in an obstacle course fashion. He will use any cane, and is often seen with his Grandma's old bamboo and ginger cane. Don't ask me why.

Jeff started his second semester at CSU Fullerton Grad school. His schedule changed to four days a week. We decided to drive him at least one of the nights he has classes to give him some rest. The other days his classes are during the afternoon. Our main concern is his endurance and his susceptability to colds and illness. His goal is to play basketball again, but mainly on the perimeter. He needs to improve his 3 point shot.

In November just before Thanksgiving, we did the unthinkable. We adopted a dog (brown labrador). Her name is Jade due to her green eyes. I got a call from Gayle to meet her at a house in Gardena. When Jared and I got there, I was instructed to pick a dog. Out of a litter of 13, there were 4 female dogs left. As a sign of things to come, right after they left to take her home, I had to make a trip to Target just before they closed to pick up supplies. It was worse than when the boys were born. Dog bowls, Dog food, collars, leashes, etc. She was 3 months and 20 lbs. She is now 35lbs and is projected to be around 65.

In the past when asked why we didn't get a dog, my response was: In a family of 5, I am #5. If we get a dog, I fall to #6. No one would beleive me and laugh. Meet the guy who picks up the dog poo. I do find myself visiting all the pet stores, researching the internet and buying all kinds of stuff for Jade. Pink collars, dog beds, dog house, etc.

Who walks the dog? Well, during the day, Jeff will take her out. At night after work or in the mornings on the weekends, Gayle. But at 10 or 11 at night.......it is me. My cap, heavy jacket full of folded plastic poop bags, and a flashlight to find the poop in the dimly lighted streets of West Torrance.

We end the dog tales for now with her rabies shot. I took her in for her shot and brought her home. 4 hours later, 10 minutes after we left her in good condition Gayle gets a call. She is reacting like something horrible has occured to someone we know. Jeff?, Jared (he was in the car with us), Jordan? ........ Jade (you can guess if you fell somewhere between Jordan and Jade). She had an allergic reaction and her face was swollen shut. An emergency visit to the animal hospital (yes there are 24 hr. animal hospitals. don't ask why there are more of those than human hospitals) , shots, pills and $$ later, we are almost back to normal. Except we had to feed her boiled chicken for a few days, with predesone and benedryl.

In december after christmas, Jeff and Tiff took both families to Jockos in Nipomo up by Santa Maria. Whenever this happans, we start a betting pool on whether they will announce something. We stopped briefly in Solvang on the way up. The worst part was listening to the whining of the boys about Solvang. Jordan was the worse. Upon declaring he will never be back, we warned him one day he will return on a date outing. Of course he would have to have someone willing to come with him........No one won the pool.

Jeff and Tiff are going on their annual snowboarding trip to Big Bear. I would say it will be an adjustment for Jeff, but he is like Gayle and does not like the cold, so he will take his customary spot by the fireplace and ESPN. I have been told his job is to instruct people on how to install the tire chains. I spent the day getting the van ready for him to take up. Emergency supplies, tools, GPS, oil change, etc. But in thinking about it, it was more for Gayle's peace of mind.

I normally am cautiously optimistic when it comes to Jeff's recovery. But I have to admit there still remains a lot of anger as to how can this happan to Jeff of all people. There are the normal responses of God's will, all works out for the best.... but still.....Life is indescriminate, unfair, unpredictable,etc. Sin in this world manifests in different ways. It is not just our behavior or nature, but our environment. It is not just our surroundings, or the effects of a uncontolled world, but where it impacts our lives with unexpected events. How do you predict cancer? life changing accidents? Financial collapse due to the economy? While I am sure this shortened Gayle and My lifespan a bit due to the stress involved, we are more concerned about Jeff's long term well being. Accepting why the event occured is another issue.