Andrea Cocke – Laine’s teacher and shaper for two years in the ELC and Phillips Brooks School

I want to tell you how much I loved your daughter, Laine. She was a bright light in my life for the brief time I had the pleasure of knowing her. I think it was love at first sight for us both; she quickly focused on my sparkly earrings and lip gloss and declared me a princess or something. The way she delivered the declaration was very matter of fact and genuine. It’s hard to describe in words, but I remember the way Laine spoke and her tone of voice. She was an incredibly happy child who laughed a lot. Of course, her laugh was contagious. Her giggle was warm, like hot chocolate – so yummy and it made me feel really warm inside. Laine would look me deep into my eyes when she spoke to me – and I would do the same. This is how I know we were connected to each other’s souls. Her beautiful brown eyes sparkled like diamonds. I started to care for Laine as if she was my own. In fact, I thought that if I had a daughter I would want her to be like Laine. She had the perfect balance of girly and spunky – like me. I liked that she would wear the frilliest of dresses with little lacey socks and gym shoes – and would dig and plant in the garden with Nava. She loved the garden at school. Seeing her happy there made me very happy – she and Nava spent hours digging in the dirt with gardening tools chatting the day away. Laine always ran to me when she came to school. I would crouch down and open my arms, scoop her up and ask she was feeling. I called her “little one”. She would quickly draw my attention to her dress and tell me that Vijay bought it for her on a recent trip. I think Vijay was Laine’s personal stylist or something – at least that’s what I was being led to believe. Laine was the kind of child who put the feelings of other children first. She was incredibly attuned to how her friends were feeling. If they weren’t feeling their best, she would bring it to my attention and then try and come up with a solution. She cared very deeply for her friends, and they cared deeply for her in return. Her friendship with Nava helped her to learn how to navigate the idea of loving someone and not always getting along; they would argue like a married couple that was madly in love. One of my favorite images of Laine is at the end of the school day. She would position herself by the gate on the playground so that her brother Mathew would see her as he walked by for dismissal. She would call his name and he would always come by the gate to talk to her. She loved her brother and he certainly had the power to put a smile on her face like none other. Laine loved her family. She enjoyed telling the class that her dad was a doctor. She had a really charming way of saying it – she would drag out the word doctor as if he was a super hero of sorts “My dad is a doooooctor”. She was always at her highest when her mom would volunteer at school. Those were the days when Laine would not run up to me when she arrived, as she was with the most beautiful queen of them all – her mother. She would tell the class days before that her mom was coming to volunteer – she would be so proud. Laine was an angel here on earth. I believe this. I also believe she is in Heaven and that I will see her again one day when I’m there. I take peace in the fact that I gave her every ounce of love that I could when I knew her and I am very proud to have been her teacher. I am also very happy that I know you – her family. I liked you very much the minute I met you and knew that your children had to be as special as both of you are. Thank you for giving the world a living angel for the time she was here. I cannot tell you how important my relationship to Laine was when I was in California. I will never forget her or you and the kindness you bestowed upon me. My most recent memory of Laine was when I came to the school for a visit. It’s the kind of memory that makes you believe that the universe really does align itself and that we truly do not have any control over what happens during our lifetime. I just so happened to be in the library for Laine’s class story time. I decided to stay for the story, and Laine ended up on my lap. I embraced her very tightly as it felt good to reconnect with her. She turned around, looked deeply into my soul and told me that she loved me. I looked deeply back into her eyes and told her that I loved her too. I want you to know that if you ever need anyone to talk to, I am here for you. Please call me any time. Words simply cannot express how deeply sorry I am for your loss. Love, Miss Cocke