The Balloon Story

When I was six or seven, we went to the annual "Lou Melendez City of Fun" carnival that they had every year on Pioneer Day in Provo. We rode the rides, ate cotton candy, played the games, waded in the weird gutter thing that runs through Provo (?).....and then of course, my Mom bought me a balloon. I remember it so distinctly. It was yellow and looked like it had been dipped in several different colors of paint, quite possibly the coolest helium balloon ever put on the planet....and it was mine.

My Mom tried to tie it to my wrist, but I was a big girl. That was for babies, I was quite old enough to hold on to a balloon, thank you very much. She relented and gave me the standard, "Don't come crying to me for another one if you let it go." I assured her that I had the whole hanging on thing dialed in and she need not worry.

I did very well all through the rest of the carnival and the long walk back to the car....but then things got a little complicated. I had to get into the car while holding the treasures of the day AND the balloon string. No way was I going to ask for help (some things never change).....as I was getting in to the car, the coolest balloon in the world made a break for freedom.

My reaction was a combination of horror and grief, followed by humiliation because I'd done exactly what my Mom said I'd do....let it go. Tears started to well up and I know my Mom saw it. I'm sure her first reaction was, "I told you so", but instead she knelt down beside me and pointed up to the sky...."Look at it! Look how beautiful it is!" She encouraged me to watch it float and we observed how the air currents would move it and change it's directions. We sat there next to the car until the balloon was out of sight. She picked me up and set me in the car....and then talked about how letting that balloon go was such a great idea because it just looked so pretty in the sky.

I don't know exactly why that popped into my head today, but I'm glad it did. As I thought about that day this morning, I've thought about how many times I've had to let the balloon go and how hard it is. How that initial moment when the balloon leaves your hand is filled with anxiety, with pain and with uncertainty....but then it's followed with that moment of relief, of beauty and knowing that your life is better because you let go.