Like many posters here I have had great difficulty in trying to digest the outcome of this trial. I felt the world had gone a little caddywompus if such wrongs could be legally judged as unpunishable. It made me examine and evaluate the integrity of our society.
With Christmas right around the corner and this special gift from Cheney Mason I was really having a hard time getting into the holiday spirit. It was as though no amount of decorating, gift buying, cookie baking or loving family could disguise the real disappointment I have held in my heart that such innocence was not only defiled but that the loss was totally wasted on my/our society.
Had it not been for an early Christmas gift that arrived in a modest envelope in the mail, I would still be planning to bake thwart cakes for Christmas rather than gingerbread men. (They're cooling on the racks as I type.) The anonymous gift announced that a contribution had been given in Caylee's and my name to our local Child Advocacy Center.
I cried and Christmas and my belief in humankind began again. Caylee did not die in vain; her gift is generous. She has opened the eyes of many who have never before given a thought to at-risk children.
I regret that I have used the word "I" so many times in this post because it is not really "my" story; it's Caylee's. This is the heritage and hope she has left as her bequest ~ much like our original Christmas gift.
God bless you, Caylee.
