Jack Hittinger/Collegian
Gina (l.), Pocket, Justin,Lydia, Matilda and Sophia Jackson enjoy hang time at home.
Justin Jackson and his wife Gina like giving each other a hard time around their house.
“We like to cook,” Gina said during a conversation at the dining room table.
“If by ‘we like to cook,’ you mean ‘Gina cooks and I stand in the kitchen with cheese, crackers and a bottle of wine and watch her,’” Justin said, stroking his beard and cracking a bit of a smile.
Assistant Professor of English Justin Jackson and his wife Gina enjoy moments like this—just talking and spending time together at their Hillsdale home with their daughters: Sophia, 3 and Lydia, 5 months.
“We’re not an exceptionally serious house,” Justin said.
He proves this by saying he and Gina are, above all else, trying to teach Sophia about comedic timing—and apparently she is already a master at responding to her parents’ requests with a single slack-jawed look of contempt.
Aside from her comedic aspirations, Sophia is a fan of classical music and literature. She can already tell the difference between Chopin (her favorite composer), Mozart and Beethoven, and said she really likes hearing her parents tell stories.
When Justin asks Sophia about her favorite bedtime stories, she is shy to respond and whispers them into her mother’s ear.
“She says Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” Gina said.
Justin, whose teaching specialty is Old and Middle English literature, laughs and says, “Come on honey…”
Then, as an aside, he adds, “She likes ‘normal’ bedtime stores, too. You know, ones that don’t have to do with decapitation. She likes Disney stories…Honey, what Disney story is your favorite?”
Sophia exclaimed that she likes them all.
Even though the only TV programs watched in the Jackson house are Sophia and Lydia’s morning dose of PBS shows, the television is in frequent use because the Jacksons watch a lot of movies.
Documentaries are a family favorite (recently viewed documentaries include Grizzly Man and Ginghis Blues), but they have a large genre-spanning collection of movies, from comedies like Half Baked to more obscure films like Love Liza as well as collection episodes of “The Simpsons.”
Music also plays an important role in the Jackson home. All enjoy listening to music, and Gina and Sophia enjoy dancing. Dancing favorites include James Brown, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Al Green and Marvin Gaye.
The family’s CD collection is just as big as its movie collection, with almost every genre represented, including reggae, Motown, classic rock (Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan especially) and ‘90s alternative like Nirvana, Beck and Primus.
“Les Claypool is the greatest bassist of all time,” Justin added.
He also owns every Beastie Boys album.
Dogs Matilda and Pocket, playful mutts who are respectively brown and black, have been in the family for eight years.
“They know that they aren’t supposed to put their paws on the wood,” Justin said while looking at the dogs straddle the line between carpet and wood in the dining room. “But usually they’re better about following directions than the kids are.”
Being outside is also something Justin and Gina enjoy; they were avid campers and “intense backpackers” before they had children, Gina said. Although now they aren’t able to go on trips as often, Gina said they still like to spend time outside.
“Justin takes pride in our yard,” she said. “We also like to play outside, making up games with Sophia and Lydia.”
Inside or outside, the most important thing to the Jacksons is spending time with (and poking fun at) each other.
“We like to play checkers, that’s one of our favorite things to do as a family,” Justin said. “And everyone knows that I’m the king of checkers in this house.”
“Yeah, sure, you’re the ‘king of checkers,’” his wife responds, rolling her eyes.
“I like to play checkers!” says Sophia, looking up from a butterfly picture she is coloring.
“Oh, yeah—Sophia is pretty good at checkers too,” Justin said.