Vitamin Float

There's a pink balloon wandering around this house. Somehow, it found its way into my husband and I's bedroom, where it lurked unseen for a time. Someone, one of my boys, most likely, inflated it a while ago and then forgot about it. But its time to disappear had not yet come.

This morning, while rushing around preparing to leave the house until lunch-time, I happened to glance across my bedroom on my way to the bathroom - and there, in plain sight, was the balloon - not lying on the floor as one might expect an un-helium-filled balloon to be -- but floating about two feet in the air.

Of course I did a double take. And then I saw that the heater vent just below it was keeping it afloat. There it hovered, just above the warm air, dancing languidly in the otherwise normal Still Life of the bedroom.

I smiled, kept walking ... then stopped and turned around again in order to watch this performance a little longer. It was so random that I couldn't help thinking about it as I went about the rest of my day. What drew that balloon to the heater vent? What drew me to stare at it so intently? And (because I can't help myself) - what parallels did it present to my about my own life?

I came to the conclusion that I want to be just like that pink balloon. I want to let go of all the earth-bound cares that struggle to weigh me down and instead be free - weightless enough so that when a burst of inspiration comes along, I'll take flight.

It's a simple idea, really. One that could be written of more eloquently using a different illustration. But today, the ballon made me smile - and I hope I'll remember that the next time inspiration strikes me. Sometimes, just the sight of someone dancing - someone who is free enough to be carried along by a pretty fancy - brings a smile to the face of others, as well. I hope I can be that someone.