Stories of Lost Children
I Miss You
by Colleen Cottrell, Green Bay, WI, U.S.A.
On August 29th, 2005, my oldest boy Erwin F. Cottrell was taken from his family. After spending Sunday with his Family, going to car shows with his Dad and Brother and having dinner, he decided to go to their apartment and get ready for school the next day. He made the Dean's List last semester and was about to start his Junior Year at a very good college. From the time Erwin left his home, his (so called) friend called him because she needed a date for a family party. My son was 20, and she was 23 or 24. Anyway, after my son got apparently very drunk, his "friend" dropped him off at his car! She dropped her "friend" off at his car, knowing how drunk he was and then after the fact she called my younger son to go look for him because she lost him. When my son kissed me good bye on Sunday Night, I never thought that would be the last time I ever saw him. I went to work and my husband called me home at 8:35 am on Monday morning. The found a body in the middle of a road that got hit by a truck. It was my beautiful son, so smart, handsome, so caring of other people and loved his family so much! All I can think of is how do we go on? Every day it feels like a lightning bolt went through my heart and head. It breaks my heart to look at my husband's face knowing he lost his oldest boy. Then I have to look at my younger son with the knowledge that he doesn't have his big brother anymore. He won't have his best friend and brother to be his best man at his wedding! I could just go on and on with everything that we will be missing out on! But I know I need to move on, and mend and come to a place where life is tolerable again. Right now life is exhausting and painful and seems like a hellish nightmare. But I hear that we will eventually come to a place where we can look at his picture again and smile. I hope one day I can open our family photo albums and remember the wonderful times we had. We will meet again Erwin, and we all will be reunited...you, me, Dad and Louis. Until then fly free and watch over your brother....we love and miss you.
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