For the Love of Balloons

I have always disliked balloons. Whenever I received one as a child, I held onto the string too tightly in fear of it blowing away—aloft and irretrievable. I loathed the sudden sound of it popping when someone at a party, usually a boy, played around too closely—or too mischievously—with a safety pin. I disliked the way balloons shriveled up after too many days of inactivity—rubbery and flat. (However, I might admit to enjoying a water balloon fight now and then.) But balloons atop the head of my niece is a kind of crown of joy.

My niece, Brittani, has embraced her balloon-loving self here. If you look closely at her expression, you could almost imagine her saying “What? Is there something on my head?” You could also imagine her putting her shades back on and going out to greet her many fans awaiting her in the parking lot on the other side of those bushes. She’s sassy, and funny, and completely comfortable with this excess of balloonery! And, no doubt, my mother instigated this fun, balloon-filled afternoon. She’s likely the one behind the camera, egging Brittani on.

This little girl grew up to be a beautiful and nurturing mother who gracefully moves from adulthood back to childhood as she sits on the floor with her children, playing a game or a toy of the moment, imagining and teaching and comforting and loving all at the same time. Brittani is also one of the most physically graceful people I know. She glides through her choreography on stage as easily as she does an errand-packed day. She has taught me, her middle-aged aunt, that seriousness has its place but not before enjoyment, or laughter, or the breeziness of a moment.

Balloons exist for the sheer joy of the moment. Their existence is meant to be ephemeral and temporary in order to celebrate a moment. I admire my niece for her ability to capture this joy so readily and still balance the sincerity required by some aspects of life: her worldview, her faith, her role as a parent, her dedication as a daughter, a wife, a citizen. But she has found a kind of poise between honoring her responsibilities as an adult and the joy she fostered as a child. I want to be more like her.