The walls were also lined with photos of Mark, Devon and me, as well as Lisa, my dad and Marie, Denise and her boyfriend, and three or four precious shots of my mom.

I made my way into our big spacious kitchen, which had funky, yellow flowered wallpaper. There were a number of large windows in the house that made it bright and sunny during the daytime. An electric fireplace in the family room kept us cozy and warm during the winter.

I made coffee for the morning and defrosted chicken for dinner tomorrow night. With dread, I climbed the stairs, hoping that both of my men were asleep by now.

Although Devon doesn’t actually have a "Do Not Enter" sign on his bedroom door, he may as well have one. His door was closed and I deliberated about whether to knock. It was after 10:30 p.m. but Devon was a night owl, and I could hear the sounds of television.

Sure enough, he was lying on his bed watching Finding Nemo, probably for the nineteenth time. I didn't understand how kids could watch programs over and over again. I rarely watched movies twice but I did find it comforting that Devon, who acted like such a tough guy, still took pleasure in Disney movies.

Nemo was a heartwarming story but the plot was too simple to hold my interest. However, I did enjoy the lush background of the coral reefs, and Lisa had clapped during the 12-step meeting for sharks when the head shark repeated, "Fish are our friends, not food!"

Devon was fascinated by animation, especially Disney/Pixar productions. He loved everything technical from computers to cars to math. Often, I found him watching Discovery or the History Channel just for fun. He was his father’s son in that respect, except that he hated English and French, which both Mark and I adored.