thoughts of 525,600 minutes

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

Like most of us, whenever she listened to music, Cyn would usually sing along. Some of my favorite memories are of us driving somewhere together and just singing out loud and proud to whatever song was on the radio; or just being in our room while she was doing homework, singing along to the music. Cyn appreciated all types of music, and Broadway musicals were no exception. We often found ourselves singing along to a Broadway soundtrack.

She was a fan of several musicals - Rent, Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables - to name a few. And oh yes, we are also big Grease fans.

One particular song that Cyn and I enjoyed was "Light My Candle" from Rent. We would either sing all the words together, or we would take turns singing either Mimi's or Roger's part. The highlight of our sing-a-long was always between the first and second parts of the song when we would make three little knocks, as it does in the song, just after Roger says, "Oh well, good night." Another Rent favorite is "Seasons of Love". And ever since she passed away, it's hard for me to get through all the lyrics without choking up a little bit.

My daughters, Cynthia and Ava, have become big movie musical fans. We've watched The Sound of Music multiple times a year, since Cyn Cyn was about two or three years old. When Wall-e came out, they became fans of Hello Dolly! A few months ago we watched Singin' in the Rain, and Cyn Cyn's "Noon Tunes" choir at school is performing "Make 'Em Laugh" during their program. Oh, and I can't forget about Annie. Hopefully we'll soon get a chance to take them to a live performance of one of their musical favorites. And I also look forward to introducing the girls to other musicals, especially those that were favorites of their Tita Cyn.

thoughts of remembering friends

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

Every once in a while, I'll do a google search for Cyn. Recently I discovered this touching blog entry by one of her college friends, posted just days after she passed away. Thank you to "bruinite" for sharing these sentiments, and I apologize that I can't give you proper credit for what you wrote. The entry begins with the poem "Comes the Dawn" which has been included in a previous post on this blog.

It goes on to say...

"But you are with God now... you have finished learning... you will be forever joyful...

I miss you so much Cindy. We will always wonder why your light was blown out so quickly, yet we will always remember the light that you have given us and keep it going. God has you now... and you will guide us with Him... you will still be the one that I remember helping me with my first education class... helping me work on my first huge paper... and pushing me to go to class... I remember playing football with you in front of Covel... you with that great arm... you have touched so many people... and I am lucky to be one of them... I miss you so much already... I miss you so much..."

thoughts of a birthday request

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

Happy 32nd Birthday Cyn!

I have several memories of Cyn's birthday celebrations. I often think of spending much of the day cleaning the house so that Cyn's friends could come over in the evening. Although I also remember a couple of times when Cyn and her friends decided to gather in one or two rooms at a local hotel to celebrate.

Wherever the location, I always admired Cyn for making the effort to get her friends together on her birthday. So although having her birthday so close to Christmas may have been bittersweet at times - given that it could be easily overlooked amidst the holidays - one good thing was that many of her friends were usually home for winter break, so her birthday was the perfect reason to get together.

I remember going to church on her birthday. Some years we would attend Simbang Gabi at five-thirty in the morning. As is tradition, we would eat breakfast after mass in the church hall. Usually after that, we would go home and go back to sleep. We affectionately referred to this process as having "Simbang-Gabi-Syndrome".

As with most family birthdays, I remember partaking in a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. For Me, Arlene and Carla, our favorite flavor was always Gold Medal Ribbon. I know Cyn and VJ liked that too, but I also recall Cyn liking Vanilla or maybe also Pralines and Cream.

Two years ago, we started this blog in honor of Cyn's birthday. It's so heartwarming to acknowledge that it continues to grow every month. So to all of you reading, thank you for continuing to celebrate Cyn's life and spirit with us.

In 2009, we had 30 entries that coincided with Cyn's 30th birthday. In 2010, to commemorate Cyn's 31st birthday, we posted a few entries of people sharing thoughts about gifts that Cyn had given to them. This year, as a little birthday twist, we are asking that if you are reading this - and as a birthday gift to Cyn - please make the commitment to submit a blog entry sharing your own thoughts of Cyn.

Every entry, long or short, silly or reflective, random or life-impacting, is a celebration of Cyn. You don't have to start writing something today. But if you've been thinking about it and already have a memory in mind, submit something within the next three months. If you've been wanting to share something but haven't yet thought of what to say, jot something down within the next six months.

If you have already posted something, thank you so much, but that doesn't mean you're excluded. For you folks, please submit something before Cyn's next birthday. Another option, for everybody, would be to simply submit a photo and a caption. Thank you in advance for your part in helping our blog continue to grow, and for helping to keep Cyn's spirit and memory alive.

Happy Birthday Cyn!

We love you!

We miss you!

We celebrate you!