Monday, July 11, 2011

Daddy Jars


It has been tough-going in these parts lately ~ especially for an 8-year-old that I know. He struggles so with his Dad not being here. Camden is a sensitive little guy, and the older he gets, he tries to hold it in, which never seems to work out for him.


Going through a deployment with children who are old enough to understand that Daddy is gone for a long period of time can be so heartbreaking at times, but I know it is nothing compared to what the boys feel on the inside.


For whatever reason, we've just come out of a particularly rough patch, where not only was Camden not wanting to talk to Steve, he wasn't wanting Steve's name mentioned. He said it made him too sad, so he was just going to try not to think about it. He worked it out in his own way though, and seems to be feeling a lot better lately.


I was trying to come up with something that would help the boys see that we were on the downswing of this deployment, and that Steve would be coming home soon. So I got some pint-sized canning jars and a big bag of M&M's. I have a general idea of when Steve will be back, so we counted out those days in M&M's. The added bonus was that we soon saw that the pint-sized jars were way too big, so we grabbed some 8-ounce jelly jars instead. I made some little labels for the jars, and now, each day, the boys take their jars off the shelf in the living room and take out an M&M, one day closer to Daddy being home again. I think the visual of it has helped them to understand that, slowly but surely, we are getting there.

10 comments:

Emily said...

Heather! You are like magic. What a great idea. I hope that it helps everyone. You're really the best and I'm pleased to follow your blog. Sending you sunshine and smiles, Emily

Steve said...

World's greatest mom. Love you Babe.

Heather said...

I love you too, Honey. p.s. I do believe this is the first time you've ever left a comment on my blog. I've been smiling all day! :)

Nicky said...

What a really lovely Idea, Heather! It made me all teary-eyed thinking of poor Camden having such a tough time and not wanting to even hear his dad's name mentioned. Hopefully seeing the M&Ms pile go down will be great comfort for the little guys :)

Kate D. said...

It looks like there are hardly any left in there! This sounds like the perfect idea for little kids.

Momma Bird said...

Very cute and yummy idea!

Ellen said...

What a great and creative idea! I just love it. Those boys are so fortunate to have you as their mom. I can't wait to hear when the jars are EMPTY! :)

Jen F. said...

I agree with Steve.

Linda said...

Cute idea! You have faced the past year's challenges with so much strength and creativity. I just hope there's an M&M jar for you. :)

Heather said...

Thanks, everyone, for all of your sweet comments. I have to say that I am pretty lucky in that I have a wonderful husband who also happens to be an extremely dedicated father. We make a great team and I am lucky to have him. I cannot wait to have him back home with us.

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