waiting and souvenirs

I was sitting in the hospital's ER, patiently waiting for the doctors and nurses to tend to my father's recent health scare. I held in my hands my trusty crochet hook and a skein of yarn; made a slip knot followed by two chains and thus began a series of seamless rounds that would grow into a chemo cap to be earmarked for donation.

The start of a chemo cap while waiting
at a wrestling match, February 2014.

I was mid-round in my stitch count when a father brought his 5-year old son into the waiting room. The boy was fidgety, tugging on his "bracelet" the hospital had given to him to wear.  "But Dad! Why do I have to wear it?!!" His dad tried to explain what the bracelet was for but the boy wasn't buying into it.  As we were the only three in the waiting room, I said to the boy, "It's a souvenir of your trip to the hospital. My son collects his. He has this many," I said as I held out my hand showing all five fingers on it.

 "He does??" the boy asked.

 "Yes," I replied, "In fact, he just got one last week when he hurt his collar bone."

"Did it hurt," the boy asked.

"Yes. My boy told me it hurt so I brought him to the hospital so the Doctor could look at it and they gave him the souvenir bracelet, just like yours."

The boy turned to his dad, held up his wrist and said, "Dad! Look! I got a souvenir!"  His dad smiled at me and mouthed "Thank you."

"What are you making," the boy asked me.

"I'm making a hat that I will give to someone who is very sick. It's what I do when I'm waiting," I replied.  "Today I'm waiting for my dad. They gave him a souvenir bracelet too."

"Ohhh, you're a very nice lady!" the boy exclaimed.

His dad told me his son had hurt himself on a trampoline and has been complaining about his "owwie" for a little while so he thought it best to be checked out.  "Dad," asked his son, "can I learn how to make a hat? His dad said yes, that he could ask a relation to teach him.

At that point the nurse called me, stating I could go see my father. As I gathered up my things the boy said, "Goodbye nice lady. I'll take good care of my souvenir!"  :)

Note: My father turned out to be (thankfully!) OK.