One of the things—maybe the most important thing—my wife always stressed was that she needed to be assured I could raise our daughter in the event my wife wasn't around. She started on this crusade long before she passed away, even before she was diagnosed with the disease that would kill her. Fact is, it was on her mind from the time she got pregnant.

It wasn't that she didn't trust me or that she thought I would shirk my responsibilities. She had complete faith in me. She just wanted to be sure. And before she passed, she was.

Lynne had seen me handle situations with the school, take our daughter on shopping sprees, deal with the mothers of her friends, cook meals, just sit and talk and laugh, and so much more. Just seeing me face challenges when Lynne was too sick to handle them left her reassured that all would be (relatively) well.

It's been four and a half years now since Gillian and I have been on our own. Not all of it has been easy or fun. But, looking back, the struggles weren't all a result of Lynne's illness or death or my being a single dad, taking the flak usually reserved for the mom as well as the guff often reserved for the father. A lot of it just came from being a parent with a teenager. We weren't always going to agree. I was going to assert authority at times I should have kept my mouth shut. She was going to rebel just because...well, that's what kids do.

But, you know what? We got through it all, good times and bad. When she was sick or needed a ride or a shoulder or just a good home-cooked meal, she knew I was there for her. When I wanted to feel proud or challenged or frustrated (read: simply like an average parent), I knew she was there for me. And when either of us started to wonder if we were loved, we need only think of the other.

And now, in a way, it's almost over. High-school graduation is upon us and Gillian will soon be going off to college. The search for schools, the SAT stress, the arguments over grades—it is all in the past. She ends up with a future she will shape. I end up reflecting on a past that entailed shaping her into a person deserving respect from the world and from herself.

And my wife, wherever she might be, ends up knowing that all ended as she would have wanted—with Gillian and me caring for each other.