As a parent, one of the best feelings in the world is to see them reach their dreams. Today is my youngest’s big day. Today is the culmination of all her grueling years in med school. My eldest knew how important this day was. She woke up early to help her elder sister prepare.

She helped blow dry her hair, assisted with the make up, and even lovingly helped her put on the toga. Despite claiming that she just didn’t want her younger sister to embarrass her, I suspect she’s as proud of her younger sister as I am.

It is during these times that I really miss my husband. I just know he’d be very proud of her and what she’s become. Even though he left us early, he was able to fulfill his promise to the girls.

When I lost my husband, it felt like my world ended. He was my best friend and partner. He was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But I also knew I – we – were lucky that he took care of us. When we said our vows, he promised to love me and take care of me until death. But he did so much more. He took care of us, his family, even after he was gone.

He planned for everything, even the worst case scenario, so when the worst did happen, money was the least of our worries. He might not be here, but I am so thankful that I never had to worry about funding our children’s education.

Every time I wrote a check to pay for their tuition, I always reminded them to be thankful that their Papa made it all possible for them. He is not with us physically, but he still made sure that he fulfilled all his promises to them. My youngest daughter has finished preparing for her graduation. As we were heading out of the house, she looked at the picture of her Papa which was displayed in the living room. She smiled and whispered, ”Thanks Papa! This is for you!”