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Sometimes you put a wish on your summer list, like, let’s say, a ride on a tethered balloon, and you check the status day after day wondering if the balloon is going to fly when your schedule is open. But finally you have to give up the wish to ongoing maintenance. And you wait a whole year. And then you put it on your list again the next summer and check the weather and drive there under a cloudless sky ready to ride it for sure this time. Then, as the previous group descends, you notice the balloon drifting a little, and how the basket sways in the slight wind. All of a sudden, you see a familiar silhouette through the basket netting, a friend’s rounded belly still keeping its secret from the world. You say how you should have gotten up earlier and how you should have called. Wouldn’t that have been fun to ride together, our two families on this last week of summer break…and what if the balloon brought the baby out today?!! That would be a story to tell. And then you see the cafe and you sit down for lunch and talk with your mouth full. And you wave and hug goodbye and rub that belly one last time before you head over to line up for the balloon. And just as you are ready to pay, you see the teen in charge corral the other would-be riders back behind the fence. You chase your desperate little ones back to the fence too. And the workers pull the ropes in tight and anchor the balloon for the day. And just like that, your little wish is grounded and your little ones get all stormy. But all is not lost. You can be happy for your friends that they got to ride. And you can head to the barn and ask the heirloom animals to cheer you up. And you can stumble on a little scene to share when you meet the ewe and her needy lamb….

Read the rest of the story at Naptime Diaries where I’m posting for Jessi today!