08/13/2026
We hope that all students are treated with kindness and compassion as they go back to school but our hearts are especially with those students who are grievers. It can be hard to navigate the academic and social demands. Know that the DMTF is here with resources and support!
This is dedicated to the hearts of grieving children who are going back to school over the next few weeks…
It was my first day of 7th grade, and I was terrified. I was still reeling from the death of my dad, a year earlier. Already shy, I worried others would learn my secret…
My dad was dead.
I mustered up all the courage my little heart could, and off I went. The day sped by, all going surprisingly well.
Before walking home, I thought I’d better stop in the bathroom. After entering, I heard a male voice yell, “Is anyone in there?” Frightened to respond, I held my breath and I waited. Silently. When it became a noticeably loud silence, I ran.
From that point forward, everything occurred in slow motion. I grabbed the door handle and pulled.
LOCKED. The door was…LOCKED.
Sheer terror ran through my entire body. Realizing that the voice I heard was the janitor coming to lock up, I was sure I’d be spending my first night of 7th grade locked in a bathroom. So, with that, I let my breath go and screamed.
Within a short eternity, the janitor returned, while two of the most popular girls in the school, stood giggling and pointing at me. An unremarkable day quickly turned to one that has never left my soul.
I could feel my body and ego shrink to nothing as I ran home to an empty house. My dad, a schoolteacher, would have arrived home shortly after.
I called my mom, sobbing. I know how badly she wanted to wrap her arms around me at that moment. But she was at work, performing the duties of both mom and dad.
The feelings of that day rest deeply in my body. I wish I could go back in time to hold that little girl tightly as the tears flowed down her cheeks.
As school begins, please keep a gentle, watchful eye on grieving children. As they walk silently through the halls; sit quietly at the lunch tables; play with reservation, on the schoolyard…
…their little hearts may be bouncing and thumping with an unseen yearning, loneliness, confusion, and fear.
