Awake and in California

It is 4 am in California, USA. Most of the people I've worked, eaten, and played with in the last half year are four time zones away and they are working on a ship docked in West Africa. That phrase at the end of that sentence is still a bit strange to me. When my mother greeted me at the door of her home at 11:30 PM, she gave me a smile, and said, 'Wow, you really did it.' And still, it is nothing to me because what I gave what I was given - by God and by all the support you give to me in all shapes and form (even reading this counts as one of them!).

By the time I was leaving the ship and Liberia, I was ready to go. I promised myself and everyone that I would give it my everything for a six months. While I cannot say there weren't those moments, I can say I spent alot of energy. I know I was where I was suppose to be because it was so hard to leave, but simultaneously, I knew my time had run up. And looking back, I wonder how it felt so effortless at times. I think it comes with doing what I love to do and being around people who feel the same way.

Immediately after I left, I reconnected with someone I love in Brussels. It is his thirty fourth birthday today. Here are 34 things I love about him (and no, I won't spare you the mush.)

- He's weird.
- He's cool.
- He's funny without trying or knowing it.
- His smile does not grow old.
- He has a great laugh. It sounds like more than one person is laughing.
- He's one of a kind.
- He takes care of me.
- He loves his mother.
- He loves his father.
- He does not hold grudges.
- He has forgiven me many times.
- He accepts my apologies.
- He has nice hands.
- He is clean.
- He loves old people.
- He points out cute babies, because he loves that I love them.
- He does not mind talking it over, and over, and over again.
- He makes me look good (well, even better!)
- He loves God.
- Because he loves God, he loves people.
- He will always help you. Or try.
- He is ever patient even when he is feeling impatient.
- He loves food.
- He loves my cooking.
- He has stuck with me through four years of dating, 1.5 years of me talking about leaving to go to Africa, and half of year of me being in Africa.
- He accepts you.
- He sees the good in other people.
- He has an unfettered creative mind.
- He has a cute, funny face that I like to draw.
- He's tall.
- He teaches me about life.
- He carried a 50 lb suitcase for me through five cities, four train rides and 147 steep hill stairs in Europe over a two week period through the cold and rain of Brussels to the city heat of Rome.
- He knows how to cook.
- He makes my family laugh.

Can you guess who he is?