Hope the Bear

My aunt came over the other day and dropped off a huge Rubbermaid container of Beanie Babies. One of them was Hope.

This bear has a history. I first bought it in 1998, because of my personal quote "Hope threads together the tattered fabric of life." The following year, my aunt Maxine became terminally ill with colon cancer, and I had sent Hope to her. When she died in 2000, Hope was sent off to my grandmother. When she died in 2001, she was given to my aunt Cathy. (Who's husband died of bladder cancer last year and is also a fellow cancer survivor.)

My husband jokes that the bear is cursed. I personally doubt it. People die. But Hope is certainly NOT lucky, that's for sure.