Judson always had a desire to teach his sister.  We used to tell him that when she gets a little bit bigger, she would be able to learn the things he was teaching her and he’d begin to see the impact of his efforts.  However, it was right around the time when Jud went mute that Jessie started to form words of her own.  So in his lifetime, Jud had very little chance to teach his “Jessie Girl.”  However, that didn’t stop him…

Though he is no longer present with us, Judson is actually Jessie’s sweet little teacher even now.

We never imagined it would occur this way, but technology has unexpectedly enabled Jud to keep teaching his sis’.  Jessie has watched the videos of Judson so many times, regularly begging, “Watch wideo Jud pease,” that she has begun to emulate his speech, mannerisms, singing, and exclamations.

In one of Judson’s videos he is eating spaghetti and exclaims, “Whoa!  That’s a lot!” as he picks up a long noodle strand.  We were eating tacos today when Jessie suddenly picked up a long piece of shredded lettuce and declared, “Whoa!  Lot!” using the same inflection and hand motions of her big bro’.

When we sing This is my Commandment Jessie starts drumming with her hands, just like Jud drums on the file box in our closet as he sings this song.

It is not uncommon to find Jessie throwing her hands up in the air and saying, “Yay!” then starting to clap, similar to her brother’s actions in one his recorded moments.

There are many other things Jessie does that imitate her brother in his videos-like pretending to burp, sneeze, laugh, and cough.  And as time is progressing, we are seeing more and more ways that Judson is surprisingly teaching his sister.

Each of Jessie’s new replications of Jud’s actions serve as a reminder that our little man’s teaching legacy is very much alive and powerful in the life of his beloved sister.

Judson would be very proud of his protégé.