(Chapter 8) Moving On

It took quite a while for the reality to sink in that my husband was gone. I was a widow. I wasn't sure if I knew how to live without Mark. Most of the time I didn't even want to get out of bed.

Working in my garden seemed to help... at least it allowed me to re-focus my grief, if only for a little while.


Mostly I just thought a lot. Thought about my life before Mark, my life with Mark and how my life was going to be without Mark.


I knew what he would want me to do. He would want me to be the strong Matriarch he married. He would want me to finish raising our family so that after I was gone they would be okay.


Sebastian seemed to take over the role of "man of the house." Not that Maddox didn't help, he was just more interested in his studies and making sure he had a head start in college.


Sebastian also helped out with washing Linus and the cleaning indoors.

But he also made sure to save a little time to get himself in trouble. Not trouble exactly, it was a while before he confessed to sneaking out with his "friend," Caryl Pai. I figured he was missing his dad and it was only normal to act out a little.

The day finally came when Stephanie was graduating from college.

While she was happy to have the rest of the family, she still missed her dad being there. He would have been so proud of her! After all, she was a woman after his own heart.

After graduating, Stephanie, along with her longtime boyfriend, Keith Zhang moved into a very comfortable home. She used the money her father had left her in his will. They began the home renovations right away.

One day while Keith and Stephanie were out for a leisurely day in the park, Keith popped the question.

A very surprised, but ecstatic Stephanie quickly agreed!

With the death of her father still very fresh in her mind, Stephanie decided there was no need to wait. Keith readily agreed and they were married right away.

I could not have been happier for my firstborn child. While I couldn't help but wish her father was here to see it, I felt blessed that I was still here to be a part of it.

Stephanie's brothers and sisters were very happy for their sister.

My darling daughter was absolutely gorgeous! Everything about the day was beautiful.

Stephanie playfully smashed wedding cake into her new groom's face. What a happy day!!!

After the wedding ceremony, Keith and Stephanie immediately got on a plane headed for the mountains. What a cozy and romantic honeymoon that awaited them. Again I was thankful for my last trip with my beloved.

They retreated to Three Lakes and stayed at a 3-star resort called Blau Hills. From what Stephanie told us, it was quite quaint.

They did a lot of outdoor activities like log-rolling, which the newlyweds both agreed equally was hard to master. They got waterlogged with all the falling off they did.

They also met a few furry friends too. Stephanie told us not to be alarmed, Victor Bigfoot as he liked to be referred to, was very friendly.

Their life together was beginning now and our family was moving on. We still missed Mark, but we knew deep down he would be with us forever.