Saturday was a great day for the child in our house. He had a birthday party to attend at Pizza Inn - friends, pizza, and games - it doesn't get any better than that for a 5 year old boy!
When it was time to leave the party, he was trying desperately to untie the balloon from the back of his chair. Every grownup around him was trying to talk him into a different balloon. But he had become attached to his red one. The fact that it was deflating and dragging on the ground as a result only seemed to endear him more to his balloon. He would not be talked into leaving without it! A well-meaning dad, however, convinced him that he needed a perky yellow balloon as well. As long as he had the red one, additional helium-filled balloons could only make life better as far as he was concerned. So while I carried the treat bag and leftover pizza box, he walked out the door with a balloon tied to each wrist.
As fate would have it, the wind was fierce on this party day. The little red balloon never had a chance! The wind whipped it right off the end of its curly string and, because it had lost most of its life already, it bounced on the ground right out into the parking lot. Then it scooted right under a moving 4X4 pickup truck, and continued across the pavement and up over a small hill, oblivious to the fact that its owner was totally grief-stricken and already mourning the lost life of his "friend."
All the child could do was cry - that heartbreaking, my-life-is-over kind of cry - the kind of cry that makes a mom want to run out in front of moving vehicles to rescue an inanimate object whose lifespan was already doomed.
Then a friend of the child came out with his own perky yellow balloon. That sweet boy and his dad offered words of encouragement to little avail. Then the friend, somehow knowing just what was needed, gave to my child his own balloon. Through his tears, the child expressed his gratitude to his friend and then carefully, protectively walked with his 2 perky yellow ballons to the van.
We travelled back towards home, making a couple of stops along the way. At stop #1, I needed to load some things into the van. As soon as I opened the door, one balloon was swept out by that vicious wind. The boy was so sad. He was sure that if I went back to the pizza place, they would give him another balloon. Using my limited command of psychology, he survived the second balloon loss of the day and decided that one good balloon was better than none at all.
Well that lone balloon survived the next few errands of the day with no close calls. and believe me, I was paying close attention to it. The last stop of the day lasted a longer while than the others. When it came time to leave, I opened the van door wide enough for the child and 3 cousins to load up. As I was checking seatbelts, the 3 year old cousin began to point to the sky. Obviously he saw something in the distance he wanted everyone else to see, too. So the eyes of all kids in the van obliged. Now all moms know that the only floating balloon a child enjoys is the one lost or released by someone else. The owner of the balloon is seldom amused.
What is it with balloons? They pop,deflate, or fly away way too soon. Their extremely short lifespans make them NOT the best toys for kids. My new great idea is to try to convince moms everywhere to agree to stop doing balloons a birthday parties. I will if you will...............
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6 comments:
Awww, bless his heart. That was sweet of his friend to share his balloon though.
You are right about balloons being bad toys, but they sure are fun when they are around. I love balloons too much to commit to the no balloons thing. Sorry :-(
BTW - love the quote about the potion for dad.
It was a sad thing to see the balloons fly away (especially when one was my fault). Anyway, my three absolutly love balloons -helium or hot air) so I say what a cheep thrill. So what if they do fly away and deflate.
Yesterday, my 4 yr old spent all afternoon trying to convince me that I needed to untie his balloon so he can get more air in it. Impossible! was all I could as as I was driving. My 3 yr old can spend an hour tossing his around. However, this week all three watched in awe as other children were using darts to pop balloons at a party. They were quite puzzled as popping balloons can't be any fun. Then the amazing thing happened: They got in line and popped some balloons themselves.
I am sure there are teachable moments in fly away, deflated balloons, but it is always great to have an extra on hand.
So, unless your child is under three years, your child will probably be playing with a balloon at my house, unless the daddy is watching. He doesn't like balloons either.
i think i sounded like a party-pooper; i like balloons as much as anyone. i just have an extremely difficult time with the broken heart that always seems to accompany the disappearance or deflation of the last one!
I hate balloons. They either pop or fly away and then the kids cry.
I hate balloons. Sayin.
I'm just sitting here thinking of the millions, yes it must be millions, of balloons you have sent home with my children. hmmm...double standard, I think.
And Junebug, don't forget about the other hazzard of balloons...very small dogs eat them!
I'm OK with no balloons at parties (or church)....as long as we can add GLITTER to the list!
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