Nino Qincompoix

After talking about my cousin Cris I thought it was only fitting to talk about Nino next. Now for many of you who have watched the movie Amelie you might be thinking that I am going to be writing about the male lead in the movie but I am not. He is named after him though. My cousin Cris and her sister Connie always give the best presents so for my birthday in 2002 they wanted to take me to Build a Bear workshop. To be honest with you I didn't really want a build a bear. I collect way too many things and I have way too much stuff I had to draw the line at stuffed animals. They said this was different that I would have fun so they insisted. So on September.10,2002 we went to Build a Bear at Downtown Disney. It was crazy. I picked a Read Teddy Bear because it promoted reading and I love books so that was an easy choice. I looked at all their faces to pick just the right one then we moved on to stuffing. I did the little dance and made a wish as I put his heart inside. I don't really remember why I chose a boy. Then I chose an outfit and shoes. I was really stumped on a name for him. I wanted something special. Then at that moment I heard people next to me speaking in French. Nino Qincompoix! The name from one of my all time favorite movies. Perfect. As I took him home I thought he would just sit on my bed and be another fixture in my room but that so wasn't the case. In comes my friend Jinny who knows I am crazy and loves me anyway but can't really understand my need for so much stuff. I explained to her the story and how he got his name. She had already watched Amelie so she understood why I would choose that name. I don't remember who came up with the idea but I remember it was a Thursday afternoon and we were hanging out like we usually do when we decided to take Nino with us as we ran errands. Again you would have to watch the movie to understand but there is a gnome in the story that travels to different countries and is photographed at different monuments so we thought it would be fun to do that with Nino. We started taking him with us everywhere and taking pictures of him. At the grocery store, the library, and the movies. Everywhere we went and at first it was just Nino in the shots then it was Nino, Jinny and I and then as people were more curious we started taking pictures of Nino with strangers. That was so much fun because people actually wanted to play and we had some really nice conversations with people. I think it is so funny that even the people at my job who in the beginning thought I had completely lost my mind have joined in the fun and if I don't take him with me they ask for him. It has been almost ten years now and Nino and I have been on many adventures. He has been to New York twice, North Carolina twice, Chicago, and Hawaii. Now that my cousin is gone he is even more special to me.

Cris

It's about 5:30 in the morning I can't sleep anymore my back won't allow it. I'm up and my mind is going to town. Today is my cousin Cris's birthday. She would have been the big 38. It is still so strange to me that she is gone. I don't pick up the phone to call her anymore but it still doesn't seem real. I officially met Cris in Junior High. I did not have a good time in Junior High. It was the worst time in my life. I was a total dork with no confidence or self esteem. I didn't have friends and I was punked. My memories are not good ones until 9th grade. I was asked to be in Cris's Quincenera. We are like third cousins so I knew she was my cousin but I had never talked to her. I had so much fun and I met a lot of friends. As we went on to highschool I became closer to Cris. We hung out at school and talked on the phone every night. She was always there for me. Listening to me whine about the boys I liked at the time and how they didn't like me. She made me feel special like I mattered like I was important. She encouraged me and inspired me. My cousin was born with a disability. She had some form of muscular dystrophy. I can't really explain it to you because we never really talked about it ourselves. She never limited herself by it. She never let it hold her back. She was a regular rebellious teenager. I know I must have really annoyed her because I would always take her parents side in our discussions. Anytime she wanted to do something I would bring up her parents she would be like can't you just be on my side. As we grew into adulthood are relationship stayed the same maybe we didn't talk as much but I always knew that I could count on her for anything. When she became ill I was so foolish. I was so in denial. I just thought she was going to get better even as she went in and out of hospitals. We never talked about dying. I knew that she was getting tired and now that I think back my poor cousin suffered so much but selfishly I never thought that she would leave me. I still needed her. Then she was gone. My only solice was that she knew I loved her. I am happy that Cris no longer has to suffer she is in heaven with Jesus. I will see her one day. I still miss her though. When things happen I think oh Cris would have gotten a kick out of that, or Cris would understand, or I wish I could tell her about that. I also feel I sense of guilt and anger in a way not about her but about myself. She had so many dreams and goals. She was fearless she didn't let things stop her. Here I am in my little world still afraid. I owe it to her to myself to be better. I will try and accomplish something today on her birthday. I love you Cris and I miss you so much...