The Older

Precious Time

Time never stops, in the lifetimes that we live in, until we take our very last breathe, which is why Fate felt as if time was a thief, because time was always moving on without her. But time is a more like a gift. Every moment matters, every second makes a difference, and every thing that happens make it count. Why? Because you just never know when you're time is up.

For Stephen and Anna Lynn and Noah time went on and there was nothing they could do for Fate except hope and wait that maybe she would wake up again, someday. Waiting came easily for Stephen but he realized as he got older, that with Anna Lynn and Noah in his life now, his life had more purpose than just only waiting on Fate to wake up. Not that it wasn't something he wanted, he did and bad, but he also really felt as if maybe this time around, he should be building moments of treasures with the family he did have left... and he knew soon Anna Lynn would find somebody and they would start their own little family, and he just didn't want to take the time he had left and waste it all, well waiting for something that may never happen. Besides he wanted to spend and get to know his grandchild and daughter before they moved on themselves.

So for a year although he still spent the last hour before bed with Fate, he spent the rest of his hours talking to his daughter about life and giving her his best advice. He spent his hours, working still, but coming home and spending time laughing and playing with growing Noah. He didn't realize how much he missed watching his own Boy grow and how much he wished he could have seen him grow even more. So the time he spent with them became precious.

He decided he would start that farm in the backyard. Try to spend some extra time when he was by himself growing something, and learning all about that. Becoming healthier to live longer was also on his mind these days.

As soon as Noah started school he also signed up for baseball. He was good and he practiced a lot and man, he could throw a ball and even catch one, so he made the team in no time. This gave Stephen something to do on his off time, and sometimes when he came home from work he would practice with him, or even go to his practices. This he enjoyed a lot spending time with Noah and his mom.

But One day, things began to change for Stephen. Anna Lynn decided before Noah turned six, she wanted to go ahead and move out and get their own place together. This didn't hurt Stephen's feelings but in a way he felt devastated, he knew this would happen sometime soon, but he didn't think he would ever be ready for it. He was honestly afraid to be all alone in such a big house. But he pretended like it was fine and when the time came, he helped her pack up all Noah's and Anna's things in boxes for the big move.

Anna Lynn had finished college and had finally got her masters in counseling. She would be making good money, and she immediately got hired on to a great work place. She was so ecstatic about being on her own and having her own house and being able to decorate it however she wanted it. Although she would visit her dad often, what she really focused her time on was beginning to date men. She didn't date all through college because she wanted to make good grades and guard her heart from men, but especially guard Noah's heart from men. She didn't want him seeing her date all kinds of guys who would end up just leaving them both. But now that college was finished and Noah was getting older she grew into the idea of finding that special someone who could love and accept both her and Noah.

So she began the dating process. She was careful about it though. While Noah would spend the nights with either Papa or one of his many friends, she would then go out and have date night. She dated a few guys in the beginning. But we all know how dating goes, it takes a couple of tries before finding someone you actually connect with. But she never really found any of the guys that interesting. She really liked men with money, and by her age she felt all those men seemed taken Already.