The old saying �You don�t know what you have until it�s gone� holds true for a person I know. Her name is Cynthia and just up to a couple months ago she lived right next door to me. I knew her because my mother worked at the same place she did, Tri-County Mental Health Center. When we first met, she seemed very nice (The same kind of nice you get from everyone when you first meet them...including myself). After I talked to her some more and got to know her, I realized that she was intelligent, funny, and nice as I stated before. Little did I know then what she was and still is to me.
Cynthia is a short person, not much over five feet I wouldn�t think. Her weight is average if not under. She has short, curly, red hair that is always fixed. I don�t really know her age (and wouldn�t dare guess it, either), but she does have two grown kids that live somewhere in South or North Carolina. She has a psychology degree and was counseling at the time.
When I started to know Cynthia pretty well, I realized a couple things about her I hadn�t noticed before. It�s like when you watch a movie for the second and third time and see something new each viewing. This is the same with me; but this wasn�t a movie. I realized her true personality. She is one of the smartest and most talented people I will ever know. She reads books all the time. Cynthia painted, sculpted, wrote, and performed many other talents that were just unbelievable. If we had both read a book, then we would talk about it and discuss it. She would come up with a story idea for me in five minutes that sounded like something from a novel on the best seller list. Her paintings were extraordinary. I received paper and supplies, not to mention her helping hand at art. She was like something from the Renaissance time. The respect she earned from me was greater than she ever knew.
Cynthia is currently living and counseling in Alaska and we miss her deeply. We communicate over the computer and phone sometimes. She is one of the most innovative and caring persons I have ever met. It reminds me of something on television when a little boy or girl losses a pet and wont be able to replace it ever again. Well, this is like that in a way. But it isn�t a dog or a cat; it is a person that myself and many other people care a great deal about. My only hope is that I will get to see her again. One day she could come down here or we could go up there�one day. But until then, I have to just wait and keep in touch. Cynthia is not just a remembered person, but a missed person, an admired person, a respected person, and most important, a loved person. |
