Bandaid

There were tears streaming down his little face. His fists balled up, his lips a tight line, his face crumpling.

“What happened?”

“I-I-I don’t know. I think I bumped into something”

“Show me”

He turned his leg towards me and revealed a small scratch, bleeding micro beads of red.

“I’m scared”

“You’re so strong! It’s nothing a bandaid can’t fix!”

His eyes widened, but his lips were still trembling.

“Really?”

“Yeah! Come on over here. Think you can walk?”

“Y-yeah.”

We walked over to the cabinet and opened it. Dozens of boxes of bandaids were sitting inside.

I immediately reached for the Neosporin antibiotic ointment bandaid and pulled one out.

I felt a pair of timid eyes on my back, so I turned around.

“Well, mom usually gives us the one with the characters on it.”

“Oh shoot sorry! Do you want those instead?”

He started to wring his shirt with his hands.

“Well… that’s what mom usually gives. But what’s that one?”

I looked at the Thomas the Engine bandaid box and then back at the Neosporin bandaid in my hand. I decided to really sell it.

“Well… it has medicine on it! It should heal your cut faster than a normal bandaid. It has pain relief too! You’ll be running in no time. We can play more!”

His eyes widened again.

“Um… so which one do you want?”

“Usually I use the one with the characters on it… but… I want to use the one you’re holding today!”

I laughed, and tucked away the thought of being a neosporin bandaid advertiser.

“Are you ready for this?”

I smiled as warmly as I could, sheltering him with my reassurance and led him towards the chair.

His leg started to shake again so I said, “don’t worry this won’t hurt one bit.” I gently placed the bandaid over his scratch, then squeezed his shoulder.

“That should do it.”

He grinned and started running up and down the stairs.

“That didn’t hurt at all! I feel all better now!”

Amazing.

I laughed, delighted by his energy.

“That wasn’t so bad, actually! I won’t be scared next time.”

Bandaids really do make kids feel like everything is okay.

Thing is, I know that bandaids don’t heal everything. I know the importance of thorough healing, whether it be a scratch or deep cut.

But sometimes you just need that Neosporin antibiotic adult bandaid. Sometimes, you need that magic cause it gives you a step of courage to keep going.