Last evening, I received an e-mail from Caroline’s fourth grade teacher that brought a new round of tears to my eyes.With each correspondence from the girl’s school I am more and more impressed with how beautifully they are handling the tragedy in Newtown with our children.

Caroline’s teacher had thought the day might move forward without talking about Newtown but as the day progressed she felt that the mood of the room was somber and sad. She brought the children close after a read aloud and told them that they had all had a lot to think about over the past few days. She asked them to give her a thumbs up if they knew why she was saying this, beautifully and privately assessing the knowledge base of her classroom. Understanding that she could move on, she let the class know that she and her aide were there for them, that if they needed an extra moment or a hug they were there, that they were always there. She told them that their feelings were okay, whatever they were. She told them that talking or writing about what they were thinking could help.

And then, with the mood obviously lifted, they moved on with their day. Because they could.

I responded to her with such graciousness for all that she is. I know many people who were scared to send their children off to school yesterday. I honestly wasn’t and as I read this e-mail last night I knew why. I knew I was sending my girls in to classrooms that were safe and more importantly classroom that made them feel safe.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to thank a teacher or a principal yet, please do. I know it made me feel like I had done a little something to make this yucky world a little bit better.