25 Things About Don

On facebook, people ask each other to post 25 facts about themselves. It's fun to read them, sort of a mini-autobiography. Here are my 25 facts.

1) I grew up in Jackson, MI and lived in the same house the whole time. My parents still live there.
2) My dad steered me away from other occupations and into computers, and I'm grateful for it.
3) My mom is a talented musician and teacher. I'm fortunate to have had the exposure to music I did at home. Almost all of my best friends I had growing up, including J, I met through one music activity or another.
4) I admire my brother's stamina - he travels all over the world for his job, and I can't imagine being able to handle that.
5) When I was very little, my sister had hidden some contraband cookies in her room, and when she got in trouble for it, I stepped in and said I did it. She thinks I was sacrificing my own well-being for her benefit, but knowing me, I probably figured if I claimed the cookies, I’d get to eat them.
6) When I was a kid, we walked or rode our bikes everywhere. I remember walking home after getting my wisdom teeth pulled. I walked about a mile to work at Wendy’s when I was in high school, even late at night on school nights. We lived near everything - shopping, friends, church, school, the dentist's office.
7) I have Sirius satellite radio in my new car. It's free for 6 months. My preset stations are "80s on 8", "90s on 9", "70s on 7", "Classic Rewind", "Boneyard", "Hair Nation", "Lithium", "Bluesville", and "Bridge".
8) I have known J since I was in 7th grade.
9) I didn’t own a car until I was almost 24 years old. My first car was a burgundy 1991 Pontiac Sunbird.
10) Of the 27 PTO activities and fund-raising groups for my kids’ school, I am one of only four dads listed as a chairperson or co-chair. I’m helping run the Science Fair this year.
11) In 2003, between March 3 and July 3, I lost 35 pounds on Weight Watchers. I still know how many points are in lots of different foods, and if I have the nutrition information in front of me, I can calculate the points in my head.
12) I did not do very well in college classes until my 4th and 5th years. I got my first 4.0 on my second-to-last report card.
13) I live in a neighborhood where all the neighbors look out for each other. I have no problem giving my neighbors a key to my house or my garage door opener number code.
14) I am relieved that my boys are well-behaved in school. Let's just say they didn't get that gene from me.
15) My worst vice is Diet Mountain Dew. It used to be regular Mountain Dew, but now I can only stand a small amount of it.
16) The physical activities that used to be easy for me to do now result in sore muscles, and the sore muscles that used to heal in a day are now taking 3 or 4 days.
17) J and I took a road trip to Washington, D.C. in spring of 1992. She thought I might propose to her on that trip. I didn’t, but I proposed a few weeks later while we were having an indoor picnic on the living room floor in my apartment. (She knew I was going to propose that day – she said I was acting funny.) We got married a year later.
18) I love watching my kids grow up. I love watching them solve problems on their own, write in cursive, make up jokes, and surprise me with the things they've learned.
19) J and I have said many times that we will never get divorced. Mostly because it sounds like a lot of work, and frankly, we’re lazy.
20) I won’t get on a plane, a boat, a train, bus, or roller coaster without taking Dramamine. I have a recurring nightmare that I’m about to get on a helicopter but don’t have any Dramamine.
21) Growing up, our family always took the same vacation in the summer – to the grounds of the American Baptist Assembly in Green Lake, WI. There was a church music conference we attended during that week. We would stop in East Troy, WI to see my uncle, aunt, cousins, and Grandma Bruey on the way there.
22) As a kid, I felt like my house was too small. Now I often feel like my house is too big.
23) I am always impressed with polite children. It shows they appreciate what they have, even though most of the kids I know have more than they will ever need. My cynical self would say that they're being polite because they know they'll get even more by doing so.
24) I am really proud of the hard work my kids do in school and the other things they take on. They truly work hard and play hard.
25) I am thankful for what I have – my wife, my kids, my friends, my health, and my job. I'm lucky.