Have You Ever Had a Season When You Didn’t Feel Seen?
When I opened cYou, many women assumed the name was a play on my own—because my name is spelled Cyndi.
But the truth is, it came from a much deeper place.
Before choosing a name for what would eventually become cYou Boutique Coffee and Wine Bar, my daughter suggested an exercise. She asked me to write down the names of the women I’ve known throughout my life. I began with the women closest to me, then moved through my school years, my banking career, and the women who are part of my world today.
Next to each name, I wrote a memory.
Something that stood out.
A moment that captured who she was.
And as I reflected, a pattern began to gently reveal itself.
With every woman, there was a season in her life when she didn’t feel seen.
Sometimes it was the uncertainty that comes with aging—wondering what her purpose was now, feeling overlooked as the world moved forward. Sometimes it was in corporate life—being passed over for a role she had earned, working hard yet feeling invisible. Sometimes it went all the way back to those sensitive teenage years, when fitting in felt like everything.
It wasn’t who these women were.
It was how they felt.
And it was a feeling every one of us understands.
That’s when the name didn’t just come to me—it became clear: cYou.
Because at its heart, this business would be built on seeing women. Fully. Intentionally. Without condition.
And that vision eventually shaped the atmosphere of cYou Boutique Coffee and Wine Bar—a place designed for women to feel seen, valued, and welcomed in every season of life.
Today, while listening to my favorite daily podcast, I heard something that stopped me. It suggested that this is the perfect time of year to write down the women in your life and why you’re grateful for them.
What a simple, powerful practice.
It’s easy for fear and doubt to creep in. It’s easy to get distracted and forget the gratitude that grounds us. So today, I started my list again. And if I know you, please know this—you’re on it. I’m giving thanks for the way you’ve touched my life, whether in a big way or a quiet one.
If a woman came to mind as you read this, send this to her.
Let her know she’s seen—and tell her why.
Let her know she matters.
Because sometimes, the most meaningful gift we can give another woman is the reminder that she was never invisible.