I was patting myself on the back for being the perfect father, taking care of the kids all by myself while mommy was at BlogHer Conference, until a certain balloon incident. As my confidence grew in handling the kids by myself, I (bravely) decided to accept a 5pm party. At the party my two little angels were anguished seeing another kid lose his helium balloon that got stuck in a tall tree. After that they held on to their balloons pretty tight.
I hung on to the party not knowing how much a small balloon can impact the kids. On the way back the kids kept assuring themselves that their beloved Papa can somehow bring the balloon from the tree. As I heard the kids talk about that balloon, I decided not to take chances as it was already late and the kids were tired. I took the balloon from my older one just to be safe, however the younger one was too scared to give it to me. As my younger one engaged me in a tussle as to who was more qualified to carry the balloons home, I lost the first balloon. Forget the kids, I was ready to cry. Not that I just ruined the perfect fatherly stay home opportunity but that the kids would be further more traumatized and I will have to manage two crying babies all night long by myself with 12 more hours for mommy to come.
I immediately let the kids know about the situation and let them cry their lungs out. In all that mayhem, I knew that we had some balloons kept in the closet. I pulled all those balloons to quieten the kids and succeeded to some extent. However, I did not have the same green color balloon that flew out of my hands. My little one held her balloon on my right side while the older one was on the left. I held them tight and consoled as they woke up several times crying for balloons. As I locked the house one last time, while not making the faintest of the sounds, I saw two perfectly colored helium balloons (pink & green) tied on the door knob. What a perfect gift from god? a friend just sent a birthday invitation with balloons. After seeing the right colored balloons I slept in peace.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I think you did great. Keeping balloons and kids in order is not easy after all
The power of a balloon… We’ve had many a balloon go missing and even with the repeated warnings and previous experiences, it always seems to be a total shock that the balloon flies away when you let go of it and Mommy and Daddy really, really can’t fly up into the sky to get it back! And you’re right – just any old balloon cannot replace the missing one. It has to be an exact replica.
Oh no! Niri, your husband’s such a sensitive soul.
I saw you in action – you did a great job. You’re a natural. Niri, praise that man!
Ok, Meg! Honey the kids have no visible scars. We will revisit the topic in my friday 5!
A perfect gift from God is so right!