The Balloon

Last night we went to Red Robin. One of our favorite spots :) Maia LOVES it because of the Big Red Bird Daddy, the Mac and Cheese and that if she eats all her dinner she gets a balloon. Balloons can be great motivators, I previously had NO idea how powerful they are to children.

After dinner we went to our friends house to spend some time with them before they move next weekend. There were other kids there so we put the balloon in the car because fights were breaking out over who got to play with it.
After we left she was very excited to get her Yellow Balloon back to be all hers! When we got home she forgot that it was no longer tied to her hand after getting out of her car seat and as we crossed the street she let go and away it went. J jumped up for it but as helium often is it was much too sly and quickly it was bopping up past the trees and into the night.

Maia.was.devastated. She was so unbelievably sad! It broke my heart to see, her Daddy told her "It's okay Maia the balloon is going up to be with Heavenly Father now."
To which she responded "Well...I want my Heavenly Father then!"
And again my heart just ached for how sad she was. After about 15 minutes of inconsolable tears about missing her balloon we were able to talk to her about what it means to go to Heavenly Father. She has already impressed us so much with her ability to understand Gospel principles like prayer. We told her how one day we can see it again, Heavenly Father will take care of it for her until it's her turn to go and be with Heavenly Father.

She understood, all of 2 years old and she could understand that it was not the end for the little yellow balloon. She asked us if we could say a prayer to Heavenly Father and ask him to help her feel better about her balloon being gone. (How old is my kid again?! How do I have such a smart girl, it blows my mind I am so grateful that she is mine, I learn so much from her!) We did say a prayer. And she felt better.
Then we did our bedtime routine and read a scripture story, sang a primary song and said family prayer. And Jesse and I were both very impressed with our daughter and her ability to overcome such a sad state while being able to learn such a wonderful principle.

It reminded me a bit of a memorial my dear friend had at the services for her children after they returned home early. They released one colored balloon followed by several white ones, representing those lost and those to follow. Now maybe we wont see that same yellow balloon again (trust me there will be another yellow balloon) but there are some people that we wont get to see for a while. I bet they'd watch over our little yellow balloon for us, and keep it safe until it's our turn to be with our Heavenly Father again.
I know these things to be true.

Please feel free to ask me more about what I believe.