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This is Cynthia Louise Spess DeLay, and today is her birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CINDY!
Isn’t she a cutie patootie?
Adorable, isn’t she? Here’s the back of this picture–
Mama’s handwriting.
Yeah, I blotted out the year. I don’t want a sister mad at me who has a birthday wish coming. 😉
Today is this little doll’s birthday.
I really don’t have very many funny stories about Cindy.
She was born when I was in first grade. I remember getting a sticker for doing such fantastic brilliant work in class that I dazzled the teacher (snort) and I gave that sticker to my new baby sister. She didn’t seem to appreciate it much.
If she had been a boy, her name would have been Christopher Darwin Spess. (We’ve been grateful God saved our boy until Dad changed his mind about that name.)
Cindy has always been very quiet. So quiet when she was an infant, Mom took Sister Debbie and me to dance lessons in the Small Town to the North, and forgot Cindy. (Dad was home, but he didn’t know Cindy was.)
Twice we went home from church and left her. (It really was an accident. Honest!) The preacher had to bring her.
When our youngest sister was born, Cindy was nine. Mom rarely had to get up with the baby in the night. Mom would get up and Cindy would already have the bottle, feeding away.
Talk about shadows of things to come! Cindy had five babies of her own, but she didn’t use bottles. These days she’s a lactation consultant at a hospital in the Big City. And she has two grandsons! (Yes, I’m jealous.)
Cindy’s one of those women you hope your daughters will emulate. She’s smart, hard working and very loving. She was never a fighter (she had a just younger sister who stepped up when someone picked on the sis!) and learned in a hurry that tears worked with Dad. Fussing didn’t.
When she was an infant, Sister Debbie (a toddler) bit her toe. When Cindy was a toddler, she bit Deb’s toe in retaliation. (Our family is big on repeating funny stories, so Cindy knew all about Deb’s bite.)
I applied for my first non-family job when I was about 15. When I stopped crying (I really didn’t want to apply for that job) the owner said, “You know, Cindy is my favorite of all you Spess girls.”
I really didn’t blame him. Cindy never caused trouble. Never played too loud when babies were trying to sleep. Was never mean to anyone and never forgot to take care of kids around her and always made really good grades.
I got the job anyway. Ü
So . . . happy birthday, Cindy! I hope this year will be one of your best, ever! God bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine on you.
I don’t know if Sister Cin reads my blog, but if you do, please say hello!
Is anyone else lucky enough to have a sister like this? If you do, give a shout here today. Tell us about her and/or just say, “Love You!” 
Susan Spess Shay 