June 12th

June 12th marks a very special day, as it is my mom's birthday and also a close friend of mine who is no longer with us.

My mom is undoubtedly my best friend! We don't always see eye to eye or understand each other, but at the same time somehow I grow a few more inches so we can see eye to eye and we perfectly understand each other because of the love we share! She always tells me I just won't get it until I have one of my own- well mom, I've had a wonderful role model and I can only hope that I can do half as well as you have with me and Ben. Happy Birthday, wish I could be there!

John Mark Romine passed away December 5th, 2008 after dealing with cancer for over a year. This was his second round of cancer, as he beat it once as a freshman in college. He would be turning 23 today. We were chemistry lab partners and you grow quite close to your lab group in that class if you want to pass!

John's outlook on life after his freshman year blew me away- he truly loved every moment he had on Earth. It made me wake up and make some hard choices on where I was going with my life and John was the catalyst (good chemistry term there) for that. He continued to encourage me and look on the bright side of life when things started turning bad for him- an absolutely selfless person and an old soul for being a college kid. He is one reason why I live my life by the title and quote of this blog, "Every step you take, you go somewhere." I'm trying to choose those steps carefully and wisely to not only live them to their fullest, but hopefully make an impact like John did.

It's been six months and I still wear his memorial bracelet in proud Boilermaker gold! I'll even let it slide that he drove red tractors, because he still loved the John Deere green! Thanks John, I miss those blue eyes of yours as I know many of us do- keep watch over us as we keep stepping through our lives.