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Children and a Cure

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I love that my daughter loves to read.

Reading is one of the great simple joys in my life. My parents never pushed it on me, and in all honesty, I think my love for reading comes from my mother. Today it is special to see my daughter with that
same passion.

My oldest daughter is in fourth grade this year. She was so excited about a new book that she picked up at her school library. She was telling me about it one night while I was cooking dinner. The book was Mustaches for Maddie by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown. She was so excited to read this book, and I was excited for her because I can relate to that feeling of excitement over a new book. She told me her book was a true story about a girl named Maddie with cancer.

I must admit, my heart dropped. I lost my words. And I didn’t know how to feel about her reading this book. She told me that she just got to the chapter when Maddie was getting her test results back, and she had a brain tumor. My heart dropped again. What is going to happen next to Maddie? Is my daughter going to be heartbroken? Will she be upset reading this book and how will Maddie’s story end? 

To be honest, I didn’t know how to feel. When I was a child, cancer didn’t exist in my world. But this is a different time, and my daughter lives in a different world. She knows exactly what cancer is and what it means to a person and their family. Is it better that she learns about other children with cancer? Yes. Did it make me feel better in that moment while I was cooking dinner? No. I am thankful that there are books and TV shows now that focus around cancer. 

I won’t tell you how the book ends, but I will tell you that I am thankful now she read it. It gives me hope that one day maybe our smart children will erase this disease from their future, or at the very least they will know better how to cope and support each other fighting cancer until there is a cure.

Meteorologist Erin Little starts your day off with a smile and the forecast each morning on KCTV5 News This Morning. With over a decade of experience forecasting the weather in Kansas City, she understands it’s not all about the weather, but how it will impact our busy lives. Erin is thrilled to be raising her three young children in her hometown of Lee’s Summit. You can find her Monday through Friday, 4:30 a. m. to 7:00 a.m. on KCTV5 News. Connect with Erin: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @erinkctv5.