Today was a sweet day of remembering. My next door neighbor Cindy passed in February and today would have been her birthday. My neighbor Merideth and I went to find her gravestone and took the kids there to celebrate and remember her. That may sound weird to take kids to a cemetary but this is a beautiful place that has headstones dating back to 1837. It was a gorgeous day and the kids loved running around, playing on the stones, and I know Cindy would have been happy that they were happy there. Death is not something we should fear as Christians. Cindy came to know the Lord right before she died and so we celebrate the woman she was here and that she has new life in heaven.
Cindy had such spunk and zest for life. She was devastated when she found out she had esophageal cancer. I remember being with her in her doctors office when she found out she was dying. I was there,8 months pregnant with Cole, and we both thought she was just going into to have a chemo treatment. But she came out crying that the doctor told her they couldn't do anything more. We left there and drove to the ABC store because that is where she wanted to go and when someone finds out they are dying, you take them ANYWHERE they want to go.
The cancer progressed slower then any of us expected. I popped in often to visit her with the boys and bring her brownies or a drink from Sonic. The boys LOVED her and loved to visit. Even though she became like a skeleton, Fin never knew she was sick until she had passed. I never told him b/c I didn't want him to view her differently.
When Cindy's friend Mike moved in to take care of her, I went over less to give them space, but I always thought of her and couldn't imagine going through what she was going through.
The last time I saw Cindy, she was a shell of a person. NO ONE should have to die the way she did. There was no dignity in the death that she experienced. She was sweet and attempted cheerfulness but that cancer was just evil. I couldn't imagine it could be like that.
She is finally at peace now and I'm so glad for her. Today remembering her was a sweet day. I'm glad she is in heaven and I think she would have loved to see all the kids jumping off of gravestones, climbing dirt hills nearby, and having races in the grass.
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