Dear Jeanette . . .

Dear Jeanette,

I will never forget the long weekend at the lake. Your friend pointed out, while we lie in the dark, how much I sound like you. Ever since that night, I noticed she was right.

Isn’t it funny how genetics work? How did we inherit the same voice? A bit raspy, with a weird version of a chuckle. People say I look like you sometimes too but it’s hard being compared to the most beautiful woman I ever knew. Instead of seeing similarities, I notice the differences. Even during your deepest dives into the ocean of addiction, you somehow stayed stunning.

I think of you often but I usually don’t burst into tears. I think of the fun times. Putting hot peppers on John’s pizza at Santapio’s. Using jelly to put our initials on our fluffernutters. Letting us camp out on the third floor back porch of the triple decker when you babysat.

Those times make me happy, but it’s when that raspy chuckle bubbles up do I begin to feel so, so sad. I guess, even though you died 9 years ago, your voice lives on through me.

Love,

Melissa

(Top to bottom:  Jeanette, Lisa & Melissa)

Melissa Sue Vieira

Co-Founder of Storytellers:  The Collective

Melissa wears many hats.  
Some are super colorful and some are dark, just like her stories.  

She is a mother, friend, writer, survivor, warrior, yogi, listener, talker 
and a lover of all things art.