Cancer: A Three Year Old’s Perspective

Last week, we all watched a new family movie together called Wonder Park. It’s about a girl named June and how she and her mom created an amazing mini theme park called Wonderland that’s run by a group of animals.

The mother tells June that she is sick but that there are doctors that can help her- however she will need to go away for a while to get better.

I was cuddling with Edda during the movie, and she looked up at me and said sweetly “The mommy is sick like you are, mama!”

I don’t even have words to express how those words felt. Edda is 3 years old. I really had no idea how much of this cancer stuff she really understood.

But she understands that her mama is sick. And that hurt my heart a little.

Because as a mom- you just want your kids’ lives to be as simple as possible.

But of course our life isn’t simple and of course she is aware of this. But hearing it was hard.

Edda is also really into painting right now. So we have been doing a lot of it. She mostly paints rainbows of varying color schemes. I decided to ask her if she could paint a picture of me, just to see if she’d try it. I hadn’t seen her draw or paint any people yet.

This is what she painted.

I was so thrilled that she painted me!

And when she gave it to me, she pointed to the orange stuff in the upper corner and said “That was your hair from the old house!”

My hair.

From the old house.

Oh my sweet girl.

See- we had to shave my head the day after we moved into this house. She wasn’t the least bit phased by it.

But she really only remembers my hair from when we lived in our old house.

So- this is cancer. From a three year old’s perspective.

Oh and that blob of green between my legs? She said that’s my butt.

Just keeping it real…