As the links disappear, the ending becomes clear...

"We cannot destroy kindred: our chains stretch a little sometimes, but they never break." ~ Marquise de Se'vigne'

Easter 2014

A perfect ending to a very busy day.  Our Easter morning began with 9:00 mass, followed by a wonderful breakfast with family at the house.  My brothers and mother joined us for a delicious meal and gifts of candy and treats in clever baskets - thank you Uncles and Grammie.  We attended a family BBQ at the park and heard from Scarecrow for the first time.  He is safe, and moving along.  It seems like weeks since we left him at the airport, and yet it has only been 5 days.  I decided to revive a project I had done with Dakota while Teddy was on the Appalachian Trail back in 2001.  Dakota was only 3 while he was away, so we created a paper chain with each link representing each day he was gone.  We would remove a link every day until there were none - this is when Scarecrow would be home.

Today, when we arrived home, the three of us created a new paper chain.  We chose different colors to represent each month he would be away.

The thought that it has only been 5 days and it has felt like weeks was a bit overwhelming for all of us.  To try and organize and condense this huge amount of time is exactly what we needed to put things into perspective.  So after careful selection by Dakota, choosing colors significant to the seasons or specific things Teddy will miss, here are the final choices we made.

We cut strips thin enough to staple together, but wide enough to write on.  Thanks to my friend Brenda, who came up with the idea, we will write our highs/lows for each day on these strips.

For anyone who knows us, it is a ritual we do at dinner time.  We all go around the table and say what our high was for the day and what our low was for the day.  This is a way for the kids to be able to share their thoughts with Daddy when he comes back home.  He will have insight into what was happening while he was away, and the kids won't fear forgetting to share stuff when he calls home.  We were all on board with the idea and could not wait to get started.  At first, I was not sure if this would fly assuming the kids would think it was too childish - I was taught otherwise.  One is never too old to make a paper chain, too old to anticipate an event, or too old to share their thoughts and feelings with loved ones near and far.  So off we went and began our creation.

Dakota was a trooper and cut out 145 strips of paper, each the exact amount for the days in the months of April, May, June, July, August and 12 days in September.  Scarecrow's estimated completion date is the 10th but we wanted to continue the chain until Jagger's birthday on the 12th, when he will turn 12.  Jagger helped me staple these links together and within minutes, a beautiful, but very long paper chain was created.

 
So, as you can see, Dakota is holding the end that represents April, and as the colors change, so do the months.  We end in September, on Jagger's end, with him holding the link that represents his birthday and the day Scarecrow will be home.  Honestly, with this representation of the days we will be without Teddy, it doesn't seem as long now.  The kids have pointed out different milestones to look forward to as well... once the yellow links are gone, summer vacation begins.  We will visit with Teddy in the middle of the teal chain.  A new school year will begin at the red chain.  Daddy will be home in 145 links.

Where did we hang this beautiful piece of artwork? Where we can see it and take a link from it daily. We took the first link off tonight after dinner, each wrote our high/low for the day and will store these thoughts and memories in a treasure box for Teddy to read when he gets home.

I am so proud of my children.  That was my high for today.  The strength, support and love they display overwhelms me.  I honestly believe they are what fuels my strength and allows me to be as supportive as I am for my husband.  So, this post is dedicated to my amazing children... may there always be happy memories, positive goals, beautiful dreams and paper chains in your lives.  I love you both to the moon and back.

Truly blessed and grateful,

The Thruhiker's Wife