CURRENT MISSION

Positive interaction with other cultures and backgrounds

ABOUT ME

I'm a down to earth 52 year old who is easy to be around and interact with. I enjoy serious conversations as well as inane humor. I live with my husband Michael (officially married on 3/14/15 but been together for almost 16 years). Between us we have four kids (27, 25, 24, and 23) from our previous marriages to our wives. Our kids and their friends are in and out of our place often, which we love. Our home tends to be an active place full of laughter and music. I have always loved meeting and interacting with a variety of cultures. We also love a strong drink (or two...or three) :)

PHILOSOPHY

I was married 19 yrs. I suppose you can say I fought my homosexuality growing up (although I wouldn't even admit it to myself because there was sexual abuse so it clouded the issue) and did everything possible to be "normal" assuming the desires were not suppose to be there (I had a very religious background). Needless to say, although it was painful, I finally accepted this and the inevitable impact to the interdependencies in my life.

My husband and I went through the same crazy journey of figuring out ourselves. We've been together for many years (met and fell in love on 1/8/03). Today we live a very typical suburban, happy life. We've been amazed at how others love and accept us when we had the hardest time loving and accepting ourselves for so many years.

We love being dads (and now proud granddads (Papa and Abuelo) of Jasper, the best little 4.5 year old boy we know), and we have found peace with everything, and are genuine, happy, positive people. Our philosophy is definitely to live and let live. I actually find the diversity in our world an amazing and intriguing element. As a school principal, I love trying to help my students (and staff) just celebrate who they are!

You'll find me to be a student of humanity, an eternal optimist, and love thoughtful, open, honest, authentic conversations. I'm getting too old to see the world as black or white...I embrace the gray and like that I can now share the wisdom that comes with age.

I also embrace the concept that our strengths should be the focus of our growth and not our weaknesses. There is more power in focusing on what is right with us than what is wrong.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I suppose since we are not able to travel as much as we want...yet (#GrowthMindset :) , we are bring the world to us by offering our home to guests. We have room and as long as we'll be in town and enough non-host time to keep our own balance, we'll be fine to host. Our house is fairly easy to find although we are in the suburbs...about 20 minutes from downtown Tampa and about 10 minutes north of the airport. Public transportation is a problem here, so if you don't have your own vehicle, it will be problematic. Uber is a good option in our modern technology at about $12 from the airport.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Update March 2019:

Jasper is now almost 4.5 years old. Work and the kids are all great. Still love our CS adventures. Having to do a bit more traveling to care for some aging parents, but we are finding a good balance in life with family, friends, and healthy relationships.

Update January 2017:

Our patio and "spool"(giant spa the size of a pool) is complete and outdoor living is the best! Jasper is getting close to two and half and can play hockey with the best of us, although Abuelo takes a priority as his preferred opponent. A couchsurfing visit where Jasper shows up is definitely icing on the cake! Also, it has been a year that I've been learning the guitar...be prepared for live music, especially if I've been drinking (which is pretty much nightly).

Update June 2015:

Life continues to go at a much too rapid pace. If you stay with us in the near future, we'll have our back patio and spa completed. We have always loved outdoor living area so we are investing in a large, screened (a must in Florida) patio that will include a BBQ area and a large spa to soak and drink in. We still have one daughter living with us, but the spare bedroom is available. Jasper is almost walking...did I mention how much we love that boy?! (Update February 2016: Jasper is almost a year and a half and is one active little guy.)

Oh, and Michael is obsessed with making sure the house is clean and ready for our guests (thus why last minute requests are sometimes challenging). I know you all aren't that picky, but he still wants to be the consummate host. We joke with all guests that our desire is to earn a 5-star rating :)
Cheers!

Update July 2014:

We had to take a break from hosting folks since both of my daughters are living here. Space was a premium! But my oldest is now married, in her own place, and carefully incubating my grandson, Jasper (due in September). We are going to be GRAND PARENTS :) Papa Todd and Abuelo Michael...we like the sound of that.

So, one guest room is open and we are looking forward to meeting some of you as you pass through our area. We miss our Couchsurfing friends.

Update for 2013:

We've now had about 6 or 7 times we've hosted since July. Americans, Germans, a Bolivian, and a Kiwi (New Zealand)...great fun.

We now have a better understanding of what we enjoy when hosting and some of the parameters that seem to work best for us. For example, please have your own transportation if you are requesting us to host. That just makes it easier for us.

We especially find hosting international travelers rewarding. We've had great experiences with fellow Americans, but there is something especially rich about hearing experiences from other countries.

Don't hesitate to request a visit. Please use the Couchsurfing request feature to officially request a stay. I'll be honest and quick about whether it can work or not.

Interests

Love music, reading (when I have time), socializing, entertaining, and cooking. After wishing I had more live music in my life, I have recently taken up the guitar to try to bring that into my world. Our home often has a crowd for dinner where we enjoy laughing, drinking, and telling stories. I have a huge interest in traveling the world (only been to Mexico, Canada, and the Czech Republic so far). One day this will be a frequent thing (especially when the kids are more financially independent) :) Lately we've done some cruises out of Florida to Central America...those have been relaxing and great fun. We are thinking of a trip to Germany (perhaps in December 2017/January 2018) to visit many of our prior guests who are Facebook friends and we consider family.

• cooking
• bbq
• walking
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• investing
• music
• live music
• guitar
• outdoor activities
• whitewater rafting
• skydiving

Music, Movies, and Books

Walk Off the Earth (out of Canada) is our favorite group. You'll also be assured there will be music in the house and/or the patio all the time.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Although I've done a lot of fun things (skydiving, whitewater rafting, etc.), I think I'm still waiting to do something "amazing"... although being Papa and Abuelo to Jasper is freaking amazing!

Teach, Learn, Share

Pretty sure I'm a good person to talk about the importance of keeping a balance.

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