a four letter word

HOPE
This was imprinted on the mellon colored band. Aside from these interest-group rubber bands, I haven't been able to wear necklaces or bracelets for the better part of 5 years. So I put it on and glanced at it, remembering the sweet family whose child, not much older than Bo, graciously gave it to him.

We were flying back from our first and only Oley conference, a conference for consumers and medical professionals of TPN. The airport was a nightmare with Bo and his diapers, and lines, and vomiting and sensory overload. He was screaming or uncomfortable, and I was sweating and trying to manage his discomfort. We were trying to get dressed and put back together after being frisked within an inch of nudity and fully unpacking. This activity seriously took the better part of 20 minutes.

As I kept an eye on Bo while trying to compose ourselves, another family came through the scanner to retrieve their things from the conveyer belt. Their child came close enough to Bo for him to see her bracelet. She immediately took it off and offered it to him. There was no hesitation. I don't think he was sure about giving it back, and she was uncertain about giving it away, but when she reached to retrieve it, Bo protested and her parents asked him to keep it. Only after they had disappeared down the concourse, when I remarked how kind they were, and what an unexpected reprieve from our TSA experience that was, as I was sending up thanks for the small kindness, did I see it was embossed with "HOPE."