It was my birthday, and in came a friend with a beautiful balloon just for me. It had flowers and the words “Happy Birthday” on it. Balloon hovered in a corner with flowers and other presents, and each time I looked at it, I smiled. Balloon was tethered by a ribbon attached to a plastic heart that kept it from flying away.
My birthday was long over, but balloon kept its shape and stayed close to the ceiling as the weeks passed by. It was a cheery reminder of my special day.
One day, balloon was lower to the ground than it had been. I decided to let it live out its full balloon life and watched what would happen. Balloon lost a little of its buoyancy as the days went by.
One morning, balloon was sitting close to the floor, restrained by its ribbon and plastic heart from going anywhere at all. I freed balloon from the ribbon and the plastic heart, and a funny thing happened.
Balloon traveled all around the living room. It gently bumped into a piece of furniture and raised itself above and glided over. As the heater went on, balloon would move here and there with the current of the heater. Suddenly, balloon was drawn toward a vent, and as I’d been watching, I was able to shepherd it away. It was the heater air vent, and balloon would have been stuck to that if I hadn’t pulled it away.
Balloon crept down the hall. It went into my office. It edged around my desk and to the bookshelves. It peeked into corners, bobbing in its graceful balloon like way.
I had other things to do. But just thinking of balloon made me smile. Later, I went into my bedroom, and there was balloon…sitting in the middle of my bed. It didn’t budge or go anywhere else. It just stayed right there as if to say, “Here’s where I will rest.”
Balloon is almost flat now. But I’m going to take it down to the local party store where they have hot air and get it filled again. Not now, though. I’ll wait til my birthday next year and have a ribbon with the plastic heart at the end tethering it again until it’s time for balloon to come to rest on my bed.
Balloon, Balloon…what a wonderful present!