There were more than a few ladies who developed quite a crush on Jai, most of whom were not his type, Bless him, but it was amusing to watch him handle all this unwanted attention! He did however always manage to diplomatically handle these awkward situations in a very professional manner. This attention was however quite profitable for him, as these eager female patients would return more and more for their massage sessions with him. They also often offered various social invitations to help him settle into Brisbane, however none of them were ever accepted. Instead he spent his free time going to the gym, training in Karate, visiting his Mum and Uncle, or going for solo bush walks. He climbed one of our highest mountains to be at the very top in time for sunrise. Most of us Queenslanders wouldn’t attempt that, not in our heat, but that didn’t stop Jai.
Jai was amazing with my son Zac… they had rough and tumble play that the two of them would thoroughly enjoy. He told me that he really was a big kid himself, and that he loved talking to kids because there was no need to make serious small talk. He could let his inner child out, play, and laugh, and have as much fun as the kids themselves. What a lovely trait. He would have made a great Dad.
When I fell pregnant and we found out we were going to have another little boy, Jai was delighted that we decided to call our little boy Jai. Yes, ‘Jai’ is a beautiful name, strong and masculine, but also for me, naming our boy after Jai also expressed my respect of ,and fondness for ,this special man. He would often check up on how I was going through my pregnancy “How’s little Jai going?”, and after little Jai was born he wrote “ Good job, a new and improved Jai in the world”. How sweet.
Then 3 weeks, to the day, after little Jai was born, our big Jai was gone. Like everyone who knew Jai, I was beyond shocked, I was, and am, devastated. Up until big Jai’s passing I had no trouble calling my little Jai by his name. But after big Jai’s passing, I find myself calling my little Jai with his middle name, “Jai Matthew” , as calling him just “Jai” makes me feel so sad, reminding me of big Jai who should still be with us all. This will pass in time, and I look forward to being able to call my little Jai by his first name alone, in memory of the amazing man he was named after.
We really miss you Jai, you were an inspiration to so many people. I hope little Jai will enjoy Karate when he is older, you never know, he may do your name proud.
