thoughts of video rental returns

shared by VJ Rabuy, her sister

One distinctive memory I have from high school is that of returning videos to Time Video (a much smaller version of a movie rental store like Blockbuster) on the day the video was due, sometimes a mere hour or two before the store closed.

Back in the late 90’s, before streaming movies was a thing, people used to rent movies, primarily on VHS tapes.

Cindy and Linh would often have one video each week, and we had two to three nights to view it. For the newer releases, we might only have one night to view it before the due date, since these movies were in higher demand.

Every so often, a video would be due, but Cyn wouldn’t be home to return it. In those cases, she got a hold of me, most probably on our home phone, and arranged for one of her friends to pick me up from the house to return the video.

So I got to ride with a friend who was a senior, to the video store and back, after nine o'clock at night. There was always a small victory in being able to tell her that we got the tape in on time.

thoughts of tying knots

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

Cyn Cyn and I were driving home from her practice one day and we were enjoying some snacks in the car. I had just finished eating a granola bar, and she had finished snacking on some apple slices that she had packed in a plastic sandwich bag.

I asked if I could put my wrapper in her now empty bag, and if that could become our "trash" bag. She didn't respond yes or no, but rather just held up the bag, which she had already tied into a little plastic knot.

I think I've written about this before, but Cindy had a habit of tying used wrappers and bags into knots. It didn't have to be just a single serving bag or wrapper, it could also be jumbo or family sized, as well.

Today, I think all of our family members may be "knot tie-ers" when it comes to wrappers and such. Cyn Cyn said she does it all the time, with just about every kind of wrapper-like item. It's a fun, sweet, endearing reminder of Cindy.

thoughts of toddler fun

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

Cindy loved kids, but she would often say that she wasn't too interested in babies until they were at least one year old, when they could interact with you more. Although I enjoy both infants and toddlers, I do agree with the idea that kids from ages one to three are super fun.

The girls and I have been lucky enough to regularly spend time with friends' kids who are in that fun toddler stage. When I've been with them over the past week, it's made me think of Cindy.

Our friend Kenzie, who is three, had Ava and I playing in her fort, pretending to sleep. Our other friend, Ripley, who is two years old, always makes us smile when she says, "Papa and I are vegan, and Mama is an omnivore."

I feel blessed to have these fun little ladies to spend time with, and brighten our days. Whenever we are with them, I have a feeling that Cindy is watching over us, and smiling down on us too.