I was kind of surprised at first, that my son Bill and Scarlett got Bruce and I a hot air balloon ride for Christmas. He knows I don't like heights or even flying all that much - what was he thinking? When he was little, he and his brother used to tease me by leaning over the railing on the second floor of the mall we used to visit. Not that this has anything to do with this story, but I also hated when people looked cross eyed or stuck their finger in their belly button. Bill and his friend used to stick their fingers in their belly buttons and look cross eyed at the same time - just to irritate me - which it didn't; it just made me nauseated. So I guess the balloon ride made sense in some way.
Anyway it took almost a year for us to go on the ride with
Park City Balloon Adventures . I thought about it a lot all summer and at first, I said I wouldn't do it. I really shouldn't have to do it if I didn't want to, right? I mean Gretchen Rubin in her book The Happiness Project, decided that one way to be happy was to be herself. And being myself means that I don't like heights and I want to die with both my feet on the ground.
I started thinking about how disappointed I would be if I didn't do it. Several of my friends told me how great it was. I had felt the same way about Kayaking - I didn't want to do that either, but did and enjoyed it. I think completing that trip made me realize that I needed to step outside my comfort zone. My comfort zone has seemed to shrink the older I get and I think it is because part of me thinks I am getting old so should be more cautious. What fun is that though? Cautious people still die - maybe not in hot air balloons or kayaks, but they do die. So what the hell? I made the appointment and started to look forward to it and be grateful for my children who never treat me like I am an old lady or let me wear mom jeans. They often give me the push I need to get going. They do sometimes remind me though, that they will be the ones picking out our nursing home.
We tried to go on Saturday but the ride was cancelled because it was a little too windy. Strangely I was disappointed. I thought I would be relieved, but the drive to Park City was so beautiful in the early morning that I wanted to see it from above. Yesterday (Sunday) we tried again. I even wore my "Road ID" bracelet in case we crashed in the mountains, so I could be identified - or the parts of me that weren't liquified could be identified.
When we got up to the Starbucks in Park City, everything was looking good so we got in vans and were taken to the parking lot of the ski resort and the balloons were inflated. It was a perfect day and the sky could not have been bluer. The leaves were still at their peak.
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| our balloon getting inflated with propane |
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There was a woman in our group who had had a stroke. She was pretty nervous but I think a lot of it was just being uncomfortable about getting into the Balloon. She was helped in along with her husband and having her there inspired all of us, I think.
There were a total of 11 of us in our balloon counting the pilot. One of the docs I used to work with was there with his wife and two kids - a coincidence for sure that someone we would know would be in our balloon - let alone someone I used to work with.
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| Bruce and I just before we lifted (lofted?) off |
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The balloon lifted off and I was reminded of the wizard of Oz. You couldn't even tell we were going up - I felt like a helium balloon must feel - if one could feel at all. No sensation of moving at all, but the scenery sure changed. I thought of my mom and how she would have loved this. Somehow I felt a little closer to her - being closer to heaven and all.
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| this was a balloon that at the time, was higher than we were. The colors were gorgeous |
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| Shortly after our lift off |
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| We were pretty high here |
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| whoa...I can't believe I wasn't scared! |
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| coming down.... |
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| .....safe, and mostly sound on the ground |
When we landed, after the balloon was deflated and the crew had put it away, we all got to have a champagne toast and hear a little bit about the history of ballooning. Here's the toast that is traditionally read after each ride:
A Ballonist's Prayer
The winds has welcomed you with softness.
The sun has blessed you with his warm hands
You have flown so high and so well
that God has joined you in your laughter,
and He has set you gently back again
into the loving arms of Mother Earth
With that balloon ride, I let go of a lot of things that I had been clinging to. My comfort zone is probably the most obvious, but I also decided to let go of some of my self-deprecating behavior (pretty deep). Oh and I am not going to be bothered by people putting their fingers in their belly buttons and looking cross eyed at me!
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