"The Last Lecture"

Randy Pausch died last Friday, July 25th, 2008. ABC News with Diane Sawyer did a tribute to Randy Pausch Tuesday night. While watching the tribute, I got extremely upset emotionally. The next day, I still felt very emotional. During my lifetime there have been many people who's life stories or accomplishments have been in the media, who I have considered great people, whom I have highly respected, who have died and it had not affected me this way. Why was Randy Pausch's death different? Why was I so emotional over his death and not the others? After considering it for a while, I realized it was not his death that upset me so much.

The difference between the other great people and Randy Pausch is that we got to know Randy's family and we witnessed his love and passion for his wife and children in a very intimate way. I realized I was not sad that Randy had passed, because all of us die at some point, I was sad because the Pausch family will no longer get to experience first hand their wonderful husband and father. Even more than that, I am sad that his children were as young as they were when he died and that at this age they can not quite grasp what an incredible man he was.

I do think that his children are truly blessed with what they do have though. How many kids who have lost a parent can say that they have recordings of what that parent would have wanted them to know about their life. How many kids who have lost a parent have such intimate videos of how much their father loved their mother and how much he loved playing and spending time with them. How many children who have lost a parent can say that I know stories about my father's life because he recorded them for me before he died and therefore I know my father through his own words.

So in a way I feel his children are greatly blessed, but they have also had a great lose that no amount of recordings can replace.

In the course of a few days I have been able to work through my emotions and come to peace with Randy's death. And I did not even know him. I know from my own experience the hard days, months, years that are ahead of the Pausch family. I also know that the emotions they are feeling now, though they will lessen in intensity with time, they will never completely go away.

I pray that God will surround the Pausch family with comfort and peace.