February 2006: A Valentine from Peter (cont.)

I was born into a world of words. Words have been, not just a convenient tool for letting the world know who I am, what I want, what I think, they have been my very life. Peter once had a writer’s mind, a writer’s love of words, an appreciation for the sound of them, for the places they could take his listeners, for the way he could use them to present himself to the world. To imagine Peter’s life without language is to begin to imagine death.

Words soothe me when I am sad, they create a bond with those who want to hear, they even make meaning when there was none.

Love you, Peter.

I sent my son a valentine, too, of course. I chose a large, glossy, red heart, something that could be put up on his wall to remind him, completely without words, that he, too, is loved.