When Mommy Goes Away

When Mommy Goes Away

Two year old Christian loses his mother to Leukemia, has to learn to navigate life without her while continuing to hold on to her memories. In the voice of poetry, he shares the ups and downs of his life without a mommy. Christian, my first grandchild was only a toddler when his mother was hospitalized. Watching him run around and explore the hospital room and hallways, I realized he was unaware of the gravity of what was happening around him. Teresa eventually succumbed to Leukemia, and on the day of his mother's home-going celebration, Christian exhibited brief moments of sadness, although not in an overwhelming emotional way. Even at two years of age, he understood that his mother would not be returning home but struggled to fully grasp the why she would no longer be present in his life. This book was not only written to capture Christian's early years surrounding his mother's death, but also to offer support, comfort and an awareness to children who may experience the loss of a beloved parent or guardian. Our big thanks to Lucy Zu, the forever sister/friend to Teresa since the age of ten. Thank you for staying connected and being a part of your best friend's child. Thank you for remembering and celebrating the special days. When Christian is old enough to understand the depth of your friendship, he will want to learn everything from you about his mother that you can possible share. Because of the special bond you had, you have knowledge about her that no one else has. You experienced her joy when she learned of her pregnancy with Christian. He will want to know about that from you. He will even want to know about the last conversation you shared. He will search for her in the deep places of your heart, because you knew her in ways no one else did. Christian will understand and embrace who he is, the more he understands who his mother was. As his godmother, you are a permanent part of our family. Precious memories of his mother has been captured inside of you. Your precious friend Teresa has been captured inside of him. Christian J. Cotton is a happy six-year old who has just lost his first tooth, serves as author with the help of his grandmother! He is the only child born to Chris and Teresa Cotton. He enjoys, chess, soccer, swimming, flag football, video games and singing. He lives in San Jose, California with his daddy Chris, sister Kaliya, auntie (Jennifer), uncle OJ, grandmother (whom he knows as GrandEva) and his doggie Mello.