To: Ashley, Amy, David, Alec, Justin, and Angelle,Paul would have have been 60 today so this is all fresh in my mind at the moment. Three of my six children knew their uncle Paul. Maybe not as well as I knew him, but enough to feel the empty space where he used to be. To my other three: You would have liked him. He was a gentle soul, and had the Goldstein sense of humor, maybe with a little more Monty Python thrown in. For me that empty space nags at me and reminds me that I can't share things with him. So many major and minor events that I feel like telling him about, or knowing how much he would have loved my new family, and the positive effects that would have had on everyone.
I tell you this now because someday some of you will experience this same thing. I hope to god it's a LONG time from now. Like 80 years from now. When it does happen though, those of you still here will think back to this and realize how important you are to each other. Even when you have differences. Even when things don't go quite right. Even if you all end up in six different states. You will always be bound by those family ties. I know you're not all close, all of the time, but consider starting some sort of regular meet up. My family did this when we were kids at the request of my grandparents, and we were all better for it.
I love you all. I may not be around when you understand what I'm talking about, but please consider the importance of family. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and older it seems. Happy birthday Paul!
