I had a rough day yesterday, it is now evening and I am not happy with what I wrote. It does not begin to convey Cindy’s character, her determination or her work ethic. Most people when they retire find time for leisure activities - and she did, obviously you don’t keep the same schedule when you are traveling for months at a time. But Cindy got up, took care of herself and then devotions and prayer - every day, traveling or home. We took a walk, every day. If we were home she was on her feet working on the house, the laundry, the meals or projects until 8 or 9 everyday always busy. The following I wrote yesterday morning.
When Cindy graduated from Hood College she still needed additional graduate work and an internship to complete her dietitian certification. We did not have an immediate plan for that but knew there were solid options in Western Pennsylvania. However that is not where we ended up. I lost my job running a fabric - custom drapery store when the steel industry cratered. We ended up in Martinsville, Virginia. Turns out God’s plan was better than our plan. Cindy was hired at the local bank, me with JCPenney a second time. Trips to the Blue Ridge Mountains were frequent. But more crucially, the Holland family and many others enriched our lives with dinners, stories of the rural south, and scriptures lived out. We went to church, a new experience for me, we met at homes for weekly Bible study and together our faith grew.
After four years we left so I could return to college at Johnson Bible College in Knoxville, TN. Cindy taught me how to study. She rose at 4AM because she was in charge of breakfast for 200 students. She also made the decision, with her application to University of Tennessee already completed, that she did not want to further her schooling. She told me that she promised Aunt B she would finish college and she did, when she just wanted to work in an office somewhere.
Cindy was a very disciplined person - and a meticulous worker at everything she did. Whether it was taking care of herself, her house, baking, or her devotions everything was done to the best of her ability. The attention to detail she had also enabled her to consistently excel in meals and baking: rolls, bread, cookies and more, to my delight.
She was the unofficial secretary for me before she was the actual one in Williamsburg. My spelling errors ceased because she proofed what I wrote. The calendar was always up-to-date. When she was the financial administrator for VEF, Waypoint, she accounted for every dime, even if it took two hours to find it. Just like she did at the bank in Martinsville. Getting ready for a four-month trip, she had all the places we needed to stay, the best hikes to take, the restaurant we should not miss and everything prepared well before we left. She wrote a detailed account of every day on the road. What did we do on July 9th on our trip in 2019, it is there right after the 8th.
In June she and I planned our fall trip. It was carefully done and we were anxious to see another 15 parks. I may take that trip some day -every note is saved.
Ready for the holidays
Joy of accomplishment