A Letter from Jeanette

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It has been particularly difficult to understand what has been going on in my own mind since I got the news that Peter is gone. I have many memories of the ten years we spent together. Some of them were great fun and some of them not so much fun; not too different from all relationships I've come to learn.
 
I wanted to recall for you the reasons that I fell in love with Peter.
 
First, he was my boss and I looked up to him because he seemed to have a great work ethic and an energy most people half his age would be envious of. Next, he had a charisma that was infectious. I remember working out with Peter, Paul and Angelo at the gym every morning at 6am. We got up at that hour because that's what Peter wanted. No one wanted to be late or skip a workout for fear of losing face to Peter. It was a competition. Who could lift the most weight, the most times and who could endure the most. We all benefited from more than the workouts. It was the conversation we had with Peter before and after the workouts. We hung on his every word while we absorbed all we could from his vast resources of knowledge. We let him motivate us every morning. Each of us brought that same ethic into our lives after those days.
 
Next, Peter promised that life with him would never be boring.  Man, was he right. He enjoyed the rollercoaster of life! Every now and then, I just wanted the merry-go-round. Peter swept me off my feet, keeping me busy with real estate endeavors and building the big house on Willoughby Drive, traveling, boating on Georgian Bay, visiting his crazy but charming family, building car dealerships, RV'ing through the states, limo rides to business meetings, driving teenagers around town and so much more.
 
Next, there was Terry. The single greatest woman I have ever met. I wish she were my own mother and I thought of her that way. I am weeping as I type this because I know that when I go to the funeral she won't be there. I still love her very much. She treated me as one of her own and I could confide in her about anything at all and I always did. We had the best times together in Florida at the condo. I loved listening to her. We also spent some great time together golfing and walking and shopping while I stayed in Parry Sound on the boat (Run' n Hide).
 
Terry loved Peter. I shared that love for many years. I knew that Peter loved me too. I owed him so much. He took a little kid like me and turned me into a woman. He taught me to think positively. He taught me that there are no limits in life except those you impose upon yourself. He taught me that there is always time to enjoy the fruits of my labor and to share it with others too. He taught me that the race doesn't always go to the swiftest, nor the fight to the strongest, but that's where the smart money bets! Peter showed me that possessions are not the important things in ones life, just the stuff we buy to be able to place our loved ones among beauty and peacefulness.
 
I've had many years to think about the life I've had with Peter. I have many-a-tale to tell indeed. I have had time to fantasize about what I would do if I ever bumped into him. Sometimes I thought that I might slap him in the face for robbing me of the dream he promised me. Usually, however, I knew in my heart that I would throw my arms around his broad shoulders, burry my nose in his neck, weep, and then simply say....thank you.

  Jeanette Aiello

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