The Little Boy and His Balloons

The little boy stood outside with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He had three balloons that were given to him tightly gripped in his hand. He began to giggle as he ran with the balloons back and forth across the yard, watching each movement that they made as they danced in the wind. Each balloon was a different color and as he watched them together, he found great joy and laughter of their presence in his little world.

His mother stood by watching her son, enjoying every moment of his laughter and delight. "Why does he enjoy these balloons so much?" she wondered, as she remembered many times that her son would pass up any toy for a simple colored balloon. The little boy continued to play with his balloons and with every movement, he watched them play and follow in his footsteps. It was if they were his best friends and he wanted to know everything about them. How they stayed up in the air, how they... bounced off each other in a gentle manner. How they moved from one place to the other, making every moment a wonderful, new experience in life.

As the mother continued to watch the little boy, she began to understand the strong bond that her son had with these balloons. His balloons were colorful, full of life and new experiences. They danced in the wind and soared in the sun. They were unpredictable, with every movement being new and every sound telling a story. They were filled with life and he knew it...wanting to grasp everything that those balloons represented. Oh...how he loved those balloons.

The little boy ran to an open spot in his yard and slowly looked over to his mother who was standing near by. As he smiled at her, he slowly let go of his balloons, watching as they slowly ascended into the sky. He followed them with his eyes as they moved higher and higher toward the clouds. His smile became wider and the sparkle in his eye grew brighter.

As the boy released the balloons, the mother watched her son in bewilderment, not understanding why the little boy would let go of such a wonderful thing. She could not understand why her son would want to give up his joy, his laughter, his passion for color, life and new experiences to the wind, sky and clouds.

Her son quickly ran to her and jumped into her arms and together they watched as the balloons continued to rise into the sky. The balloons danced in the wind and the sun enhanced every color of those beautiful balloons. They slowly continued to move higher into the clouds.
Just as the balloons were almost gone, the boy whispered softly... "Good bye Mommy, good bye Daddy, good bye big brother... Be colorful, full of life and experience new things...
and most of all... be free..."

"I am."