I've been tagged...

"I'll be back so soon you won't have time to miss me.
Look after my heart ------------- I've left it with you"
~ Edward Cullen (Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer)

Today marks exactly one month since I left my family at the airport and headed for Korea. It seems like it was just yesterday, doesn't it? I guess that means that time is moving a lot faster than I gave it credit for. Anyway I was tagged by our friend Dianna over @ http://possumgrape.typepad.com/my_weblog/ to write in todays blog:

Six things about me that you may or may not know ~

1. I sleep with a stuffed animal everynight. That's right people, and I am not afraid to say it. It is something I have been doing my whole life and I can't seem to break the habit. I actually forgot it when I came to work on my first rotation and the nights were hell those three days. I thought when Amanda and I got married I would be able to break the habit but Amanda can't sleep if I am suggled up with her so I still have my stuffed animal. (BTW the stuffed animal is Mickey Mouse)

2. Back in high school my best friend Tony and I had made plans that after college/air force we would hook back up and open our own hotel/restaurant. Tony was going to run the hotel and I was going to run the restaurant. We both had jobs at the time, he was working the front desk at a Best Western and I was a waiter/chef/host at a family restaurant down the street. I never had any intentions on staying in the military longer than 4 years.

3. For 12 years of school, I never missed a single day. I had PERFECT attendance every year and I was given certifactes of attendance for every semester which I still have. I never skipped school, I was never out sick, and the only days I did miss were two days back in pre-school when I had the chicken poxs and that doesn't count. I did skip lunch period once and went to burger king but I was pretty stupid to return with a burger king crown on my head and was given a day of in school suspension.

4. I got picked on a lot in school. Mostly about my height. It wasn't really until I joined the wrestling team my freshman year that I started getting respected. My wrestling career however was cut short when I popped my knee during the Lockport High School Annual Wrestling tournament. Back then I was 4 foot 10 inches and weighed 88 pounds. I had to eat ALOT the night before a match to meet the 90 pound weight limit for my division. Once I got hurt I stopped wrestling, but I kept eating, hence the reason for the diet.

5. The single greatest day of my life was the day my son Gabriel was born. Not that Lily's birth wasn't wonderful or the day that I got married, they were both very special to me as well. But the day Gabriel was born was the day that I knew that nothing else in my life matter anymore except for my family. I was with Amanda from start to finish, all 24+ hours of it, and when he finally decided to come, I cried...for a long time.

6. Amanda, Gabriel, and Lily are my best friends. Most people say that about their spouses and kids but actually have other people their best friends. I have a few guys I consider to be the best guy friends that I have, Tony, Ryan, and Josh...I don't tell them everything. I don't talk to them about the meaning of life, fears, or love. I don't cry in front of them, or have long deep meaningful conversations with them. They are the guys (although I used to do that with Tony before I met Amanda). But my wife and my kids are a different story. I share everything with them and every secret. I love them all with all my heart and I am counting the days until I can be with them again.

Until next time...