A New Year, A New Pinkie Day

Happy New Year to all our Pinkie Day Pals out there in cyberworld! Hope you were able to have good, quality time with family and friends over these last two weeks of holidays.  We certainly had a great time at our house once Daddy finally got home.  Unfortunately, we couldn't make it to Tennessee or Northern Virginia to see extended family.  However, we got to spend time together at home and that was definitely special. 

And now on to the topic of this post.  In an earlier post, I mentioned how Pinkie Day can be flexible.  Well, in our family we just changed it and the children are adjusting really well.  George's work schedule changed recently so instead of leaving Sunday night, he now leaves Monday morning.  Therefore, since we see him on Mondays now (albeit for a short time) we start counting the days of the week on our thumb beginning at Tuesday instead of Monday.  So, when we get to the pinkie, it is Saturday, the new Pinkie Day! 
This may sound a bit ridiculous to the untrained ear, but believe me, when you are living it it makes all the difference!  Children find a great deal of their security in routine, repetition, and clear expectations.  The passing of time is a difficult thing for a child to grasp.  Add into the equation the longing to see an absent parent  and the child can simply melt down at the drop of a hat!

This is why I love the Pinkie Day concept so much.  As the mother at home holding everything together, I welcome every single thing that can help my children understand when they will see Daddy again.  It is difficult to watch the "missing" of him, but it's so comforting to know that the children are secure and confident about how it all works. 

If you know anyone who has an absent parent during the week for any reason, please share this blog.  Pinkie Day is not just about helping the children understand the routine.  It is also such a great help to me, the parent, while trying to navigate through such a sensitive,  difficult, and unavoidable family situation. 
We really hope to find other families who can benefit from this seemingly little idea. 

So if your family is all under one roof tonight, count your blessings.  If not, count on your fingers and know that you will be soon!  Happy Pinkie Day!

Below is your Pinkie Day video from 6 year old Emmett.  He shares his nuggets of wisdom with you, his Pinkie Day Pals, about our power outage today!   Enjoy!