She described one particular incident how she and Luca was waiting for the school bus which was overdue. Luca was unusually quiet and Petrone tried calming and reassuring him that the bus would soon arrive. The bus did arrive. When the child boarded the bus, Petrone saw him staring through the window and he started to cry even as the bus pulled away. Petrone felt helpless because the bus was already gone before she could do anything. All she could do was stand in the middle of the road with her outstretched hands as if reassuring him. The bus then rounded the corner and drifted away from sight.
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The next morning, as she and Luca waited again for the bus together, Petrone drew a small heart on his wrist after kissing it. She told him. “I want you to look at this heart every time it feels like too much. I want you to look, and I want you to remember that no matter what happens out there someone is here waiting for you to come home. Someone loves you.” Petrone watched him board the bus again. As she stood in the road waiting for him to look up, Luca didn’t. She thought he would cry or maybe wave to her but he did neither, instead the boy looked at his wrist.
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Petrone says that everyone needs to remember that while something like that may not solve the problem, it was a sign of comfort all the same. It helped a child to be reassured. Says Petrone “Maybe it’s not a fix, not by a long shot, but it’s a comfort just the same, and comfort can go a long way when you know someone loves you”
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