It truly seems like yesterday when my nephew Jake, was watching Winnie the Pooh. I can remember when he caught his first fish using a fisher price plastic fishing pole (not even a real pole) and caught a bigger fish then I did all summer. Sad, really Sad. So I can't fish, so what? I remember trying to catch minnows with him in the lake behind the cottage in Wisconsin - somehow I could never catch enough for him. I remember our trip to the aquarium in Baltimore - for their 5pm aquarium at night tour. He was very excited about the sharks and knew a lot of shark trivia. I also remember how much he adored "Howie" - his grandmother. Even as a little boy - he use to look up at her with complete love and adoration in his eyes. Howie, this and Howie, that. Howie had a way with Jake. I remember how Jake's dad, Steve, drove my canoe into a rock! Oh wait this is about Jake! I remember how he would get the most angelic look on his face and then do something bad. Funny how he looked like Steve right after doing said thing. He would crinkle his eyebrows like "yeah I did something I wasn't suppose to - whatcha gonna do about it?" Jake, a little scrawny kid, has grown into a tall, handsome, smart, and athletic man. It makes me feel old, it makes me feel sad - what happened to that little blonde haired boy I knew, and it makes me feel proud. Article on Jake - here!
Jake is a superlete, a triple threat in sports. I can remember when he first began to play frisbee golf and still beat me! He was a little smart mouth when he was younger and he still is! And he should know "never to pat AUNT Donna on the head" that would be bad, very bad indeed. But he makes me laugh, and he is very sweet to the little kids. A truly endearing moment for me, and I have many, but this one stands out the most, is when we visited our Arizona Speckhards with Logan. I think Lo was 1 1/2 years old. She ran into Jake's room while he was trying to play a video game and was messing with stuff all over his room. Any normal teenage boy would be like "get this kid out of here!" I ran in after her and told Jake I was sorry she was running around his room and went to get her and he said to me "No, Aunt Donna, she can stay in here with me." It's funny how these things stick out in your mind. I can remember him fetching the beers for his dad and uncles. The uncles sending his ball into the water while playing crouquet, oh how they would laugh, and when I last saw him - he towered over me! He towers over most of us. He is taller then his parents. Logan likes to refer to him as super Jake! I bet she thinks he can leap tall buildings in a single bound. I bet he can. She absolutely adores him and always asks when is she going to see Jake and Geez.
As he goes away to Cal Lutheran, to start a new chapter in his life, we hope he will never forget the importance of family, the importance of being a Speckhard and knows how proud we all are of him. Congratulations Jake. Well done.
Per Wikipedia "An imp is a mythological being similar to a fairy, frequently described in folklore and superstition. Imps are usually described as mischievous more than seriously threatening, and as lesser beings rather than more important supernatural beings. The attendants of the devil are sometimes described as imps. They are usually described as lively and having small stature.
