For Cindy, Love Lexi

I was so excited to be given Cindy's name this year for my service gift. Cindy is one of my favorite people and I have thought on multiple occasions how we lucky we are that she married into our family.  I have always been so close to her husband Alex, but I am so lucky that he choose such an amazing woman to be his eternal companion. Cindy is one of the sweetest, most loving and genuine people I know.

One of my favorite things about Cindy is how good she is to her nieces and nephews. Alex and Cindy started dating around the time that I was an awkward, self conscious freshman in high school (I can't be exact on the year, but you know.... the dark ages).  Cindy was this beautiful, nice, older girl who was dating my Uncle Alex. Being the oldest, I don't have any older sisters or cousins, and I SO appreciated the extra attention that Cindy paid me. She asked about school, about boys, and would frequently give me advice about things going on in my life. I felt close to Cindy from the start.

When I got Cindy's name, I was reminded via the "timehop" app how sweet Cindy was with me. It seemed like every day for weeks at a time I would read a one sided conversation (I could only read/see what Cindy would write on MY wall, and never knew what my responses were) between young Cindy and young Lexi. I was reminded again how sweet my Aunt Cindy always has been with me.

Around the same time these conversations were showing up on my timehop, I also started dating a boy who shall remain nameless. This boy would frequently invite me to his home, and I soon became close with his family. Being the oldest in his family, he had younger siblings, and get this- a sister who was in the midst of her very own "freshman/dark ages" time of her life. I decided that the best way I could serve someone else was to try to be the same kind of example/ role model that Cindy was for me.

From that moment on, I made a special effort with this sister. I would ask her about school, and make a special interest in the events that I knew were coming up in her life. I would try to make an extra effort to make sure that she had fun plans, and we would often invite her to tag along with us. I grew to love her so much, and I loved the friendship that we had.

I am no longer dating said boy. I have to admit that his family was a hard one to let go of. Especially this sister. I still think of her often and wish that I could continue our close friendship without things getting awkward. I decided that the "cherry on top" of this year's service would to be write her a anonymous note, letting her know how great I think she is, and what potential she has. I poured out my heart to her, sharing with her how great I think she is and I hope she can feel how genuine I wanted it to be. I hope that even though she won't know who this letter is from, that she will know that someone out there thinks she is awesome, and that this confidence will be a blessing in her life, the way my Aunt Cindy's confidence in me was a blessing in mine.