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Days in the Lives of Jethro Gibbs and Family

(Revised to add pictures of the Gibbs family)

Chapter 11    Stillwater (REVISED)

Since Dad passed four years ago, once a year Margie and I go to the old homestead in Stillwater.  It’s seems so odd to stay in the house without my father there but it feels good too in that I don’t just remember the bad times but I also remember the good. To remember the times here with my parents before Mom got sick and to remember how Dad and I mended our relationship before he died.  It was the right decision to keep the house so that it will stay in the family for Richard and Nicole.  They will know from whence I came and see that there is love here.  

I’m glad that Dad got to meet Margie.  He took to her right away.  “Jethro,” he said, “you just might have found someone who can keep you on the straight and narrow.  She’s something else and in a good way.”  Those two were as thick as thieves.  I guess it was that pilot talk that they always did when they were together.  Among the many things that Margie did was to learn to fly planes and she just loved to talk to Dad about it.  It tickled him to have someone with whom he could share his flying exploits. Dad always called Margie by her first name, Alexis, just like her parents do.  Once I asked him why he did that when I call her Margie and he said it’s out of respect to her parents because her parents must have had a good reason to name and call her Alexis and he respected anybody who could produce a woman who can keep me on my toes.  I had to agree with him about that because she does keep me on my toes.

When Dad died I gave the general store to the young man who helped him out there and had considered selling the house but Margie convinced me that I should keep it and I’m glad that I did.  We have someone to maintain the property and they have a cleaning crew to come in at least twice a year to clean.  When it’s time for our visit the cleaning crew comes in to clean and stock supplies.  The management company has an account at the local bank to pay for any repair needed and we contribute to that account on a regular basis.  With all of her other skills Margie is also a CPA.  

I asked her one time how she acquired all of these degrees and she told me that early in her career she posed as a student and actually matriculated at several schools around the world.  Many of her assignments lasted for just long enough for her to complete an accelerated program to gain a degree before she had to move on to another assignment.  Add to that, for many assignments she had to infiltrate certain groups and had to learn their trades or skills in order to gain access to their inner circles.  So if you really what to know how skillful Margie is instead of asking her what all she knows one might do better and spend less time asking what she doesn’t know.  That list is probably shorter.  For example here are some things that she has experience doing and does very well: linguist, martial arts, lawyer, auto mechanic (she can take apart and rebuild an engine), pilot (her father taught her to fly a plane. He learned when he was a boy from a kind neighbor), plumber and electrician (a cousin who owns a construction company taught her), chemist, computer programmer and accountant just to name a few. Since we’ve been together she’s learned a great deal about woodworking but she leaves that one alone because she wants me to be able to do something better than she does and she doesn’t want me to feel that she’s trying to outdo me.  Above all else she is the best wife that this man can have.

The twins love coming to Stillwater and they call it Gramps house. Although he died before they were born Margie made sure that we show them pictures of him and talk about him ever since they were babies.  They’re three now and know all about Gramps and Nana (the name that they call my mother).  How can I not love my wife who has made my deceased parents seem like they are alive for my children. She shows them pictures of my mother and I tell them what I remember about her and the good times that I had with both my mother and my father. Talking about my mother gets a bit difficult for me but I do it for my children.  I want them to know how their Nana would have loved them so. Having had more time with my dad, although at times it was a strained relationship, I share with them how I learned about woodworking from my father.  Richard just beamed when he heard that because he too likes woodworking and maybe he could be good at it like I am just as my father was good at it.  I never thought of that before but now that I do it feels so good that my dad taught me woodworking and I can now pass that own to my son and my daughter if she so chooses. 

When the twins started talking and understanding what we said to them Margie and I talked about when we will tell them about Shannon and Kelly.  At some point in the future we will tell Richard and Nicole about their sister and in telling about their sister they will need to know about my first wife.  Whenever we do tell them we will have pictures to show them and hopefully that will help them to relate to what we say. The marvelous thing about Margie is she does not begrudge me my memories of my deceased wife and daughter, Shannon and Kelly.  Early on with Margie I realized that in my other relationships I was attempting to ‘recreate’ what I had with Shannon and that was impossible to do and so I was setting myself up for failure.  With Margie I decided to build a relationship on what we shared and not try to recapture something from another relationship.

So Stillwater will have a Gibbs in its population for the foreseeable future, even though we are not here every day of the year.  The Gibbs house will still be a part of the Stillwater landscape for generations to come.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs

 Alexis Marjorie Gibbs

Nicole Meredith and Richard Joseph Gibbs