What a sweet story! Thanks so much for sharing this - although the on-again-off-again nonsense to which you were subjected by Paul was awful. Can you imagine what he was like later as a boyfriend and heaven forbid, a husband??!!? Yikes.

You were brave having a NY Eve party with your dad away! I lived in the UK but set it up to surprise two of my kids who lived in my house in Canada one New Year's Day...they answered the doorbell and nearly had simultaneous heart attacks. :)