It was hard to choose one story to tell about Mike because there are so many good stories about him.
My husband, Byron, and I moved into our house on S. 30th St., December of 1999. Mike and Shelly were our next door neighbors. Our daughter, Amaris, Sophia and another neighbor girl named Beverly were playmates and friends. Hot summer days were spent in the Jaquez's backyard under the shade of two giant oak trees. The girls loved swinging on the swings, jumping on the trampoline, and making up games to play.
One summer, Mike and Shelly decided to do some landscape work in their backyard. On Craigslist, they found a good price on sod. They bought the sod to put in an area of their backyard that got part sun and shade. Before they laid the sod, they did all of the necessary prep work to that area; weeding, raking, leveling the ground, fertilizing, etc. After they laid the sod, they watered religiously twice a day for ten days; once in the early morning and once in the late afternoon. Mike roped off the sodded area and told all of the children, and Coco, that this area was not to be played on. I went over on day seven to take a look at the sod. It was a beautiful green space. The sod was growing in really well, no brown spots at all. A sight to be seen!!
The tenth day of the sod was a very hot day but the girls still played all day outside under the oak trees. Like clock work, in the late afternoon, the water sprinkler was turned on to water the sod. Amaris and I had to leave to run a quick errand, but I promised her that when we got back she could continue playing with Sophia and Beverly. We were only gone for 30 minutes, at the most. When we pulled into our driveway, Mike was in his driveway, garden sprayer in hand. The water turned on to jet, full blast. He was spraying down Sophia and Beverly. Apparently the girls decided not to heed Mike's directive of staying off the sod. The girls were caked in mud from heat to toe. The only places on their bodies that weren't covered in mud were their eyes and teeth! Mike greeted Amaris and I with a smile. He said “Hey guys!! Amaris you missed all the fun!!” He turned back to the girls and continued spraying. Every few minutes you could hear him saying “Turn to your left” and “ Your other left Sophia/Bev”.
Mike definitely had the right to be very upset. I'm guessing that he probably was, but he took it all in stride. Just another day in the life of a Dad. He sprayed down the girls, cleaned up the mess, and made plans to tackle the backyard another day.
Mike was a great Dad, loving husband, ferociously funny friend, and a soldier for Christ. He will be greatly missed.