thoughts of a burrito

shared by Arlene Rabuy, her sister

Cyn worked on Linh's family's catering truck occasionally. I had told her that my favorite burrito was a bean & cheese one. She took one home after one of her first shifts. She had a sporadic catering truck work schedule. Although, I did know exactly which day she had worked on the truck because there would always be a bean & cheese burrito waiting for me in our refrigerator on that evening.

thoughts of appreciation for a good pen

shared by Andrew Beall, her brother-in-law

I have been drawing since the age of three. At least that's where my first memories come in of me sitting down and creating with a pencil or pen. Over the course of the three decades of my dabbling in art, I have formed strong bonds with many pens, pencils, and other tools of the trade. Much like a baseball player might have their favorite bat, I have my favorites that I use when I have to work.

Which brings me to my point. As I sat drawing tonight, I realized that it was time to open the package and pull out a new pen. This is always an exciting thing for me. As I dug through my supply drawer, I finally found what I was looking for. A Pilot G2 rolling ink pen. It's my favorite pen to draw with, and I have used it for many years now.

The reason I find it worthy to share this, is that it was Cindy who introduced me to the pen. It didn't take long for me to discover that Marlo and her sisters had shared interests with me when it came to writing and other things. Arlene always seems to have Sharpies nearby, VJ and I share a passion for paper, Cindy liked ink pens and highlighters, and all the sisters seemed to be fascinated with fonts. The graphic designer in me appreciated all of these things.

And so I remember the conversation where I told Cindy that I was looking for a new pen, and she pulled out a G2 from her bag. I have used it ever since, and for whatever reason, I always think of her when I open up a new one.

This may not be the deepest story to share as my first entry on the blog, and I hope to share more as the blog continues to grow. But I've come to realize that the small things mean just as much as the big ones when it comes to remembering those we miss. I'm glad I have small things like this to remind me of Cindy. Not a day goes by without something like this happening to me.

I miss you Cindy. =)

thoughts of a reason to smile during Mass

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

Our family has always made it a point to go to church regularly. I have fond memories of several instances when I enjoyed going to Mass with Cindy. There is a particular part of the Mass when the prayer, "Holy, Holy, Holy" is recited or, preferably, sung. There is one specific style of the sung version of the prayer that we truly enjoyed the most.  "...Blessed is he who comes...in - the - NAY - HAME - of - the - Lord..."  I have wonderful, vivid images of Cindy swinging her head from side to side, her long hair swaying back and forth, during the last five syllables of that line. So whenever I hear that prayer, whether it is recited or sung, I find myself smiling, thinking of my sister...rocking out at church.