Part of The Team

We went to see a Hot Air Balloon competition the other day. I was able to help crew a balloon, thanks to D for watching the kids (all four!!!!) and our sweet neighbors, Kim and David. They all three encouraged me to get in on the fun. Kim, another of her friends named Jill, and I worked on getting things set up as well as getting to know the owners of the balloon. Kim, who had been a part of a crew before, also getting in some flying time, was able to go on the balloon with the pilot. There was somewhat of a breeze, coming in light gusts, that was refreshing to the ground crew as they worked, but left the pilot a bit skeptical of flying at the moment. Balloon after balloon went up in the air and finally the pilot began to fill his up for the flight. I was really hoping I could hop aboard, too, but a man came over begging for his son to ride. The whole team was a bit hesitant of this, especially since the boy is a special needs child with some high risk ailments which would make flying dangerous. Jill, who also wanted to go up, and I both knew that if they were not going to let the boy go, it was only fair that we stay on the ground, too. The parents seemed like the type that would have gotten very upset...so Jill and I talked with the ground crew on where we needed to sit in the chaser truck. We turned to climb in the truck and the family who wanted their son to ride was climbing in instead(this included their other sons, too). Jill and I were a bit frustrated by this, but we both had good parents who taught us to smile and go with the flow, so we squeezed in, too. And laughed at the antics and monopolization of the conversation from the parents (who are magicians---very neat---they love their job) with each other and the other balloon owners. At one point I looked over at Jill and said, "Where will Kim and Tim (the balloon pilot) sit after we land and begin the trek back?" Too bad we thought of that near the end of the chase.

We chased the balloon all over town and after losing sight of it for a few minutes, we finally found it was getting ready to land in someone's back yard. As Tim's wife was running to the back yard, with us following, we noticed a "NO TRESPASSING" sign stuck to the gate. Fortunately, the man of the house gave us permission to take down the balloon in his back yard. It was not until we were pulling the balloon down to the ground that we noticed exactly how many people were chasing the balloon with us! Once the balloon was down, I looked around at all the people helping wrap it up...more than 20!!!!! Two of the people who showed up were Kim's mom and step-dad!!!! So after the balloon and basket were carried and loaded into the trailer, we thanked the crew and then Kim's parents gave us a ride home (I love how God takes care of the details!). The next morning, Kim and Jill went back and Jill got to take a ride!

What a marvelous, fun, and crazy time! I loved it!