‘Every day I send my daughter to school with a heart drawn on her hand.’: Mom shares heart-wrenching way she prepares for school shootings

“Every day I send my daughter to school with a heart drawn on her hand.

I tell friends and teachers it’s so that when she misses me, she can look down and see a physical reminder of me.

She can touch it and know that I’m always there for her, even if I can’t be there with her.

Do you want to know the honest truth?

I send her to school with a heart drawn on her hand every day, so that if she ever finds herself sitting against a wall in a dark room, hugging her knees to her chest with her blonde head bent in terror, while silent tears stream down her cheeks as her class waits for an armed gunman to try the door handle against a barricade of desks…

She will know that I love her.

She’s not old enough for a phone yet.

So this is the only way I can say goodbye.

It’s been over a week since the most recent school shooting, so the news cycle has moved on.

But I’m a mom in America, so I cannot.

I just keep drawing hearts on my child’s hand and praying the only time she needs them is when she misses me.”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Emily Solberg of Shower Arguments. Follow Emily on Instagram and Facebook. Submit your own story here and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

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