Hi Aaron. I know, I know. I'm about 4 years and 11 months early for my 5-year letter to you. But something happened last night that I wanted to make sure you knew about. Your brother is visiting your Gaga and Pip this week, getting to spend some quality time with his grandparents. He and Gaga walked over to the memorial garden at Gaga's church and Sammy starting reading the names on the engraved obelisk. He got to your name, knowing full well that your name was on there, and he told your Gaga that he misses you so much, and he was sad that he never got to meet you. He also told Gaga that he didn't think she could understand that feeling he had. She told him that she missed you every day too. I idly asked your mom if maybe Sammy still remembered the time he had his tubes in and he told your mom that after everything went black (anesthesia put him under) in the bright room with all the doctors (the operating room) he got to play with an older boy. In Sammy's words the boy
Hi Aaron, You'd be 15 today. Well into your teenage years, likely driving next year. If you'd have grown up anything like your little brother has you'd have been so into cars. If you'd have turned out anything like me, you'd already be trying to figure out any way possible to not have to drive your parent's car when you turned 16, and be failing miserably. 15. That's a big year. You'd definitely be in high school, probably have some really terrible taste in music that your mom and I would be trying really hard to appreciate on your behalf. I like to think you'd have followed my superior example and be taking the first tiny steps towards playing drums with some friends in a band, maybe learned guitar from your Uncle Matt, or somehow gained your Aunt Sarah's singing gift. Music's always been pretty big in our family, so I imagine you'd have found some gift for it somewhere. Or maybe service, or theology and philosophy would be your thing.