Would he put them in homes or orphanages? Wouldn't that be just what the police or some social worker would do?”
-- Dicey (Part 1: Chapter 1 )

Importance: This is part of Dicey's thought process when she first begins to accept that her mother is not coming back for them. The likelihood that they will be split up is what drives them to walk for more than two months to finally reach Abigail's house.

That was a worry that went along with the limp James had developed from a hole worn into the sole of his left sneaker; with the gray under Maybeth's eyes and not having heard her voice for days; with Sammy's new habit of clinging to her hand and doing whatever she told him, right away, not even the start of a quarrel.
-- Dicey (Part 1: Chapter 7 )

Importance: Dicey is struggling with the weight of all the worries she has. The fact that the journey has begun to change...