I realized the other day how many friends I have made through our adoption journey, but that none of us really know much about each other beyond adoption-related news. So, I thought I’d write up a little bio about Andrew and me to pass the time.
Melissa: I was born in Detroit Michigan in 1978. My family moved to Orlando Florida when I was 4 because my dad got a job working for Disney- he still works there, 25 years later (he will be a hit with the girls – free Disney tickets! LOL). My parents
are “bikers” – ie they have a really nice motorcycle that they ride on the weekends, they go to Bike Week in Daytona every year, and have been riding motorcycles since before I was born. My dad even drove us to school on the motorcycle as a “treat.” My parents listen to “rock” music – mostly Aerosmith, Metallica, Pink Floyd, Van Halen etc. and they listened to this VERY LOUDLY while I was growing up. Everyone in my family has tattoos. My sister is “winning” right now with the largest % of body coverage. Don’t go making assumptions based on stereotypes now – my parents were awesome, responsible parents. They were tough on us, very involved in our lives and school, very open about discussing sex, drugs, alcohol, and they knew every single one of our friends. As a kid my favorite things were unicorns, music, and art. I actually attended an art school for awhile and won many local art contests and had my artwork displayed at two major area art museums. When I got into middle and high school I was what people considered a “punk” or a “goth.” I dyed my hair a dozen different colors (mostly purples, but sometimes platinum white, sometimes blue),
wore mostly black, wore black lipstick and nail polish and even got my belly button pierced at age 15 (Mom took me) and then my nose pierced when I was 18. I was on the math team, honor roll, in all AP classes, editor in chief of the yearbook, and I was in the Colorguard (flag team) in our marching band. I graduated high school in the top 10 of my class with a 4.7 GPA (AP classes). I finished my BS in Microbiology and Cell Science at UF in Gainesville in 3 years, and minored in Sociology and Chemistry. In 1999 I moved to Atlanta to go to grad school at Emory. In 2002 I got my Masters in Epidemiology (think disease epidemics, not dermatology/skin). I’ve been working at the CDC ever since and I am currently a government contractor for CDC in the Global AIDS Program.
Andrew: Born in Savannah Georgia in 1973 and raised mostly by his single mom. His mom was/is a “free spirit” or “hippie” so she moved around a lot and he grew up mostly in Florida where his mom worked for the Florida Bible College. When he was 13 his mom married his step-dad. His step dad adopted him soon after that. Andrew also got a step/adoptive brother and sister from this marriage. His sister is mentally retarded due to brain damage resulting from long-time epilepsy. His brother died in a boating accident when Andrew was 17. Andrew was also a “punk” in high school – he had a Mohawk haircut,
listened to Billy Idol, Dead Milkmen, Jane’s Addiction, and They Might Be Giants and wore leather jackets and combat boots. He went to college for a year, and then joined the Navy. He was briefly married at this time (less than one year), and after the birth of his first son Matt, his ex-wife disappeared. He was remarried shortly after that, and he and his second wife raised Matt and his second son, Sebastian for 10 years before they finally divorced. His sons are currently 15 and 14 yrs old. After 12 years in the Navy, he left his military life for a job in the private sector. While in the military he served as a Navy Corpsman, mostly in Navy Hospitals, as a Neurophysiologist. He was also advisor to the Surgeon General of the
Navy for Neurophys, was an instructor at the Navy Neurophys school and was captain of the Navy Honor Guard. He also played on the Navy rugby team and continues to play and coach rugby today. Andrew was also active in a local Roman history re-enactment group in the DC area – they dressed up in Roman armor and re-enacted Roman battles. He still has his Roman armor (he pounded out the steel himself and made the armor) on display in our home, next to his collection of medieval melee weapons (swords, maces, axes – think Lord of the Rings LOL) – he plans on using these weapons to “intimidate” any boys who come to try and date our girls haha. Andrew is currently the Director of Clinical Neurophysiology for Emory University Healthcare, working primarily with epilepsy patients like his sister.
Andrew and I met 5 years ago through a mutual friend, and were married 2.5 years ago in a small, last minute, unplanned wedding at his aunt and uncle’s home in Barnesville Georgia. We decided that our money would be better spent on other things than a big wedding. We still listen to the same music as we did in high school, and still dress casual “punk” outside of work. We consider ourselves to be religious/spiritual scholars – we don’t claim any single religion as our own, but we respect and study all religions. We plan on bringing the girls to a Unitarian Universalist church here in Atlanta so as to respect and honor whatever religious beliefs they already have. We also acknowledge the other “community” benefits of belonging to some sort of church and UUCA has many adopted kids from all over the world so the girls should feel comfortable there.
We enjoy camping and hiking, shopping at IKEA, and reading. Our favorite TV shows
are LOST, Jericho, Law and Order, CSI and Star Trek. Favorite movies are Boonedock Saints, Moulin Rouge, and Star Wars. We do a lot of volunteer work, mostly helping Ukrainian orphanages, but also with a group called MedShare here in Atlanta that collects unused medical supplies from around the US, sorts and boxes them up and sends them FREE OF CHARGE to countries in need. We help them mostly with their Neurology stuff.
