Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Neunundneunzig Luftballons

Yesterday after work I was quizzing L on her day. She told me about going to a local grocery store (Trader Joe's) and how she got a balloon there. As she and Stacy went out to the car evidently the balloon got away from her.
"It goed up and up and up." At this point her voice began to quaver with emotion. "L thinks it probably went all the way up and an airplane got it..." Then she actually had to stop for a second as her eye got all welled up with tears, "...and took it to Mimi's house!"

I spent the next two or three minutes holding her and rocking her and consoling her as she wept bitterly for her lost balloon on its trek to Maine. Later that evening as I was relating the incident to Stacy she said "Oh, yes! She was so distraught in the parking lot that employees from the store came to the door to see what was wrong. They ended up bringing her another balloon."

I'm sure it helped, but I doubt it could ever quite fill that balloon-shaped hole in her heart. So Mimi, if in the next few days you find a Trader Joe's balloon wrapped around your chimney, or stranded in a nearby willow tree, please, please, please retrieve it and send L a picture of the happy wanderer!

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