Elephants and Tea - June 2021 - 22

Dear Cancer,
Dear Cancer,
Today was a good day. I turned 4! Mama, Dada,
Aidan, and me did so many fun things. We
took 3 different trains to get to the aquarium
in Boston! The first train was purple, then we
took an orange subway train, and finally a blue
subway train! The aquarium was so much fun!
I saw so many penguins, fishes, and the biggest
turtle I have ever seen! When we got home, I
opened presents. I got my very own golf clubs!
Mama made me a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting...my
favorite! She even put orange sprinkles
on it because orange is my favorite color. Mama
hasn't been feeling well these days but she still
made my birthday cake and that was really nice
of her. I think she was nervous to go to Boston
with her scarf on her head. I saw her looking in
the mirror in the morning and she was fixing
it a lot. We had a lot of fun today, I don't think
Mama thought about the cancer in her body. I
liked seeing my family smile today. Today was
so special.
RYAN (March 16, 2019, Age 4)
RYAN (June 19, 2019, Age 4)
Dear Cancer,
Mama had her very last medicine today!!! This
makes me happy because I know she doesn't like
taking the medicine. I don't like taking medicine
either, so I understand. When she was at
her appointment with Dada today, Nenny and
Titi came over to set up the house so we could
celebrate together. I helped to tie some balloons
to our mailbox! Me and Aidan put on our matching
pink shirts for mama. Nenny made really
Dear Cancer,
Mama has been done with doctor appointments
for a little while now. I love having her home
more. She still seems nervous a lot, though. I see
her talking to Dada a lot about different parts of
her body hurting her, but she never complains
to me. She plays with us a lot and we do lots of
fun things together. Mama's hair is even growing
so fast! I tell her everyday that her hair must
be growing because I can see it getting longer. I
want her to look like she used to look. She will
soon, Dada says. Today we celebrated " life day! "
That's what Mama calls it now...the day the
doctor told her she had cancer. She says every
year we will spend lots of family time on this day
and celebrate life...I like that!
RYAN (January 3, 2020, Age 4)
Dear Cancer,
Thank you for not taking my mom away from
me. I have to tell you that life feels so normal
now...well, besides needing to wear a mask
everywhere and staying home so much. I mean
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ELEPHANTSANDTEA.COM
JUNE 2021
yummy food for us to eat. When Mama came
into the house she was very happy...I don't
remember the last time she smiled so big...
her smile makes me smile. After we were done
eating, Mama's sister, Titi, gave her a present. I
love presents! It was a bell! It made a really loud
sound and when Mama shook it, she cried a
lot...I think she was happy, though. Sometimes
adults cry when they are happy, I guess. Mama
handed me the bell next and I got to shake it as
loud as I could. That felt good. All the kids rang
the bell and I saw all the adults hug each other.
I think ringing the bell is a good thing and I am
happy I saw Mama do it. I know Mama isn't done
with cancer yet. She needs to go to the hospital in
a few weeks and Aidan and me are going to sleep
over Titi and Uncle Dan's house! We are going
to go to the zoo and I am very excited. Mama
told me she can't pick me up for a little while
after she comes home from the hospital but that
we can still snuggle carefully. I hope I see a tiger
at the zoo!
A SON'S POINT OF VIEW
that I don't really ever hear the word cancer in
our house anymore. Sometimes Mom has days
where she still seems nervous about her body
and the cancer coming back, but not as much as
before. We have celebrated two life days now...
Mom says this is a really, really good sign. I hope
we get to celebrate so many more together. Mom
shows me how strong she is every single day and
she is teaching me to be strong, too. She loves
teaching us how to take care of our bodies. She
says it is so important. Mom loves to exercise and
sometimes I even join! I can do a pretty good
push up. Mom's hair looks just like it did before
I even learned what the word cancer was. She got
her first real haircut in a long time! I remember
how excited she was that day. I don't like getting
haircuts. It is so nice to see Mom smiling more
and laughing more and being silly with us. She
still goes to the doctor sometimes, but not as
much as before. I think she might always be a
little nervous when she goes to the doctors from
now on, but I understand why now. Cancer
wasn't fun for Mom. It wasn't fun for any of us,
but it is over now...we hope. I don't even think
Aidan remembers what happened to Mom, but
that's okay...I can teach him someday. Mom has
a special pink ribbon magnet on the back of her
car that I see every day. I think she likes looking
at it, too. It says " survivor " on it. One day we had
a long talk about what that word means. That
talk made me very happy because it means my
mom is still here with me and not in heaven like
Nonna. I am so happy she is with us...I would
miss her too much.
RYAN (April 10, 2021, Age 6)
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Elephants and Tea - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Elephants and Tea - June 2021

Contents
Elephants and Tea - June 2021 - Cover1
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Elephants and Tea - June 2021 - 1
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