She was a portrait of resilience, a 4-foot-8, 75-pound embodiment of the maroon “Uvalde Strong” flags flying all over Texas. To an admiring public, she was alsoin the United States who have survived school shootings can recover, becoming some version of who they used to be.
She used to adore school, because that was the place she made new friends, and Caitlyne liked to think she could make a friend out of anyone. Now, whether she would be able to go back at all, Gladys didn’t know. Inside Room 302, she met her homeroom teacher, a young woman with a warm smile who called her “honey.” She escorted Caitlyne next door, where her new classmates were gathering. Caitlyne barely knew most of them, in part because dozens of Robb students had decided to take virtual classes or withdraw from the district and go elsewhere.
“They need to cut her grass,” Caitlyne said, reaching down to brush the dirt off a doll that had been left amid the flowers. She took a photo of Ellie Garcia’s to send to the girl’s father, then pointed at a solitary grave on the far side of a mesquite tree. Makenna Elrod was buried there. She had given Caitlyne a chocolate doughnut a few hours before she died.
It was nearing Caitlyne’s bedtime when they arrived home, so she put on shorts and made herself a cup of Swiss Miss hot cocoa. Beside her, Gladys prepped a bowl of banana bread mix. Cox has been reporting on children and gun violence for more than five years and is the author of an award-winning book on the subject,He strives to tell his stories from the perspective of the kids he writes about, not the adults around them. This requires the cooperation of their parents, who often say yes because they believe few people understand the trauma their children have endured.
She and Nef had accepted that it could take months before Caitlyne could sleep on her own again, but they hoped that small doses of time without her mom would inch her closer. Gladys, who was attending graduate school to become a counselor, knew that for Caitlyne to go back to school, she would have to regain a measure of independence.
Caitlyne viewed friendship as her gift. As a toddler, she sought out children at day care to share her toys with, spurning declarations of “mine.” As a second-grader, after learning that another girl’s parents couldn’t afford to buy new shoes, she brought a pair of her own from home.
Source: Education Headlines (educationheadlines.net)
maggieNYT Maggie, can u tweet linking to the family’s gofundme?
maggieNYT The lives of every child within hearing distance of the events of that day will NEVER recover from the trauma. They are different ppl than who they were when they woke up that morning. They’ll never know their potential and will never EVER trust or feel safe again. EVER!
Please explain to her that gun company & gun store profits are far more important in Texas than preventing the mass murder of children.
Amazing..Compare it with the utter nonsense and despicable crap spoken by JoeBiden who is 79 years old !