From emotional posts to tongue-in-cheek photos, parents all over the world have been busy sharing insights from their children’s first days of school over the past fortnight or so.
When US mum Lindsay Rhoades uploaded her own ‘first day of school’ photo, however, it was not met with delight or laughter.
Lindsay’s daughter Kate passed away in January, at the age of four, from leukaemia. With the beloved little girl supposed to be starting school this month, Lindsay was naturally filled with much sadness and regret for how things turned out.
Posting photos of an empty front porch and the school where Kate would have attended, Lindsay wrote on Facebook: “Kate should be starting Kindergarten today. She should have been dropped off this morning with a new backpack full of supplies, a cute new outfit on…and a bow in her hair.”
“There should be a first day photo of her proudly smiling on our front porch. A classroom with a teacher excited to learn more about her. A desk with her name,” Lindsay added.
The grieving mother went on to lament these everyday things that childhood cancer ‘took away’ from Kate with the most hearbreaking message.
“Instead of dropping her off and worrying about her all day, I visited her at the cemetery and miss her beautiful face…This is childhood cancer. This is my life,” she added.
Clearly this is a very difficult time for Lindsay and her family, but they will no doubt take comfort from the many messages of support and love received on the Prayers for Kate Facebook page.
We’re thinking of Lindsay and any other parent going through a difficult time during the back-to-school period.
