Things in Common

What is something you and your spouse or best friend have in common? (inspired by: The One-Minute Writer)

Trevor Dillard and I are total opposites in the way we grew up.  I was more sheltered than he was.  While he was pounding the streets and swimming in the sea, I was being taken care of by babysitters and nannies . While I had a mom and a dad rising me, he literally had a village raising him.  I lived on the vast Mainland.  He lived on an island smaller than my county.

What we do have in common is we both have birthdays that land on the 28th of a month.  I was born November 28 and he was born April 28, five months after me.  We are both the youngest sibling in our families. 

He has an eclectic taste in music, and I'd like to say I do, too, but he listens to more reggae and island music than I do.  I listen to more 80s and rock.  His nuance of music to my ears, now has me listening to more reggae and island music than I ever had.

We both love art.  He is a tattooist, and I just like to draw and paint, make things. 

Culturally, we were both out of place where we were from.  I'm primarily Asian with a dash of French-Canadian, and grew up more with a Eurocentric background.  He is primarily White with a dash of Wicocomico in him, and grew up with a Polynesian/Asian background.  This is where we bring balance to the table in our relationship.  We understand each other; where we didn't fit in to our environment, or didn't fit into the mold of what others identified in us. 

He was raised in Hawaii from infancy to about age 40.  I was born and raised in California.  When I got to Hawaii, I had already had ties and connections, which was excellent.  I fell in love with the indigenous and Aboriginal lifestyle that still remains, as well as the mixing of cultures and the linguistics that come along with it.  I love that Trevor speaks pidgin and if needed, he can understand and communicate with people who speak broken English.  I grew up speaking broken English with my mother, though, I speak proper standard English.

Both of us have children that are multicultural and multiethnic.  This was important to both of us.  We needed to know that neither of us have qualms about ethnicities and differences in other cultures.  Sensitivity to culture is important in both of our upbringings.

We both love to cook.  He went to culinary school, and I get most of my recipes from the internet.  We love to cook homemade and fresh meals and share our food with people. 

Both of us believe in Aloha.  Constantly giving love and respect to each other and to others, especially those that
show their love and respect.  It's a lifestyle we proudly live by.