Courageous, Inspiring, Notable, Determined, Young-at-Heart. These words don’t just spell the name Cindy. They ARE Cindy. Those words and more define who she was as a person, and how she enriched the lives of the people who knew her. We first met Cindy the summer we decided to be seasonal campers. She was one of the first people we met at our new camp site. She was friendly and welcoming to us, and from the very start we looked forward to spending time with her. Cindy wasn’t just a camp friend. She would spend weekends with us over the winter, and relished making me do things that were outside my comfort zone, like crafting and eating junk food. When Cindy had her mind set to do something, nothing was going to keep her from what she wanted. There are a lot of things I will always remember about Cindy, from the way she raised her eyebrows when she was up to no good, to the way her fingernails were always perfectly manicured (including those notorious middle fingers), to the way she insisted “no tears,” to how much she loved her man and all the dogs she ever met (especially her own). The last few weeks I got to spend with Cindy while she was in hospice was like finding a precious treasure. She was surrounded by love, and cared for so well by the person she loved most in this world. I will never forget what that looks like. Rest well, Cindy. We’ll keep a bottle of Hot Dam handy, and we’ll continue to watch over Tom and Apache.
