The Wishing Tree by Mary Redman

In preparation for Geoff's departure (Saturday August 27th), curiosity got the better of me and I went online and did a little research on children's books (meet our family of book worms). I came across a small collection of wonderful books meant specifically for children who are members of a military family. In becoming a part of a military family (all five of us) we are having to prepare ourselves for the hardest part - our first separation. As much as we will miss our beloved man of the house, we have to stay strong and keep pace until he comes home (I am pretty good at keeping things sane - but this may stretch me to a new limit). One of the ways I was thinking about having this happen was preparing (as much as possible) for the goodbyes (major easier said than done). The more time we have to prepare, the better so "add to cart" I went from one of my favourite websites www.amazon.ca for this beautifully illustrated (Christina Rodriguez) and written (Mary Redman) book called "The Wishing Tree." The story is about Amanda, a young girl who creates a wishing tree to help her cope with her dad's year long military deployment. She begins a daily routine of writing thoughts, wishes and prayers for him (such as clean sheets, good meals, nice friends and good luck) on bright yellow ribbons and adding them to the branches of her tree. The tree begins to grow as does her number of ribbons and with that, she is able to remain positive and brave about her father being away and to make her feel she is helping him on his duty. For young children (such as our two and a half year old Hannah) this story is a simple short story with bright colours and helps children understand what is (or will be) happening. For older children (all ages) this story may sprout an idea to create their very own wishing tree, and have them feel they are not alone in having to deal with a separation of a loved one. The plan is for us to start reading the book now to start the explaining to (a very sweet and sensitive) Hannah that her daddy will be going away for awhile. Once Geoff has gone, I plan to continue to read the book until he returns and keep it handy in case we need it again in the future (any deployments - although not thinking of that just yet). When you have your first born and wish for a manual (still have those days, two and a half years later) at least be reassured there is a world of books out there to help your child (lucky them) to get them through almost anything life brings their way.