It seemed that we were always on the receiving end, so when his mower was in the shop, I gladly loaned him mine. There were so many things they did for us. I don't think I could thank them enough, so I hope Maria reads this and knows how much I love and appreciate them both.

The one thing that surprised me was this. My daughter's last job was delivering pizza. I didn't like the idea at all, but she was so proud that she'd found a job relatively quickly after quitting her job at a local restaurant. And she found those two jobs all by herself, no help from anyone. Still I would wait up at night for her to arrive home safely. I would try not to think about all the possible mishaps she encountered, the danger, the people who could take advantage of her. As it turned out, I wasn't the only one who waited up. 

After my daughter's death at home last fall, Maria and I were talking about her. Pete and Maria had taken an interest in her, but I didn't know to what extent until that day. Maria told me that neither of them liked that she was delivering pizza. I confessed that I didn't like it either, but she was 21 and I'd taught her to make her own decisions. Then Maria told me that Pete would wait up at night when my daughter was out. When he finally saw her car in the driveway and knew she was home safe, he went to bed. 

You can't find neighbors better than that. I miss Pete. I miss that friendly, although sometimes sleepy and grumpy "Good Morning" when we're both taking out the trash. I miss the watchcare. Thank you Pete and Maria for being not just good neighbors but caring friends.