One of these days, it's all about me

Ok, a few people who are close to me have asked me what I want for my birthday. (October 29 in case you were wondering) In the past, I've downplayed my birthday, not wanting to cause a fuss... after all, it's just another day, right? Well, it turns out I lied. What I really wanted was for someone to surprise me and make a big deal of the day. I wanted someone to make a fuss without me having to hint at it. To that end, I've posted my birthday want list below. Being passive-aggressive is part of my charm.

On October 30, I'll be more than happy to return to my regularly scheduled taking care of others, going to school, working out of the home life. Thank you for listening.

Wondering where the pictures of our balloon ride are? Did you honestly think I would forget them?

Last Saturday was truly a beautiful day. The sun was out, it wasn't too chilly, and we were scheduled to take a hot air balloon ride. Millie, Shelley, Billy and Tillie had very generously given us this adventure as an anniversary gift last month.

Hubby was very excited about it. I was very nervous. To properly record the event, we brought our 35mm camera, our video camera, and a digital camera we borrowed from Andy and Amy. Yes, it was a lot to juggle between the two of us, no we didn't accidentally drop any of the cameras from the balloon. (Thank God!)

We left Punkin in Shelley's capable hands and met at the Windy City Balloon Port at the appointed time. There were to be about ten other passengers aboard the balloon as well. We all piled into the van (or "chase vehicle") and were driven about two minutes down the road to the launch site. It was there that passengers and spectators watched, and Hubby assisted in, inflating the balloon, and readying it for the flight.

Richard was our captain/pilot/guy who flew the hot air balloon. When he had uprighted the basket, and everyone began to climb in, the balloon began to drift a few feet off the ground, and sometimes side to side, only to land back down to earth with a thud. The basket, full of passengers, tilted and swayed forward and back. It reminded me of an impatient horse that wanted to run free, before the rider was ready. That was the only time I was actually scared during the entire adventure. By the time we were ten feet off the ground, however, I was calm once again.

In the blink of an eye, we were 1300 feet in the air, floating along watching the ground get further and further away. You would think it would be terrifying (and to some, it might have been). You would think it would be terribly cold and windy. You would think it would have been a wee bit hard for the brain to process. It wasn't any of those things. I felt pretty secure in that sturdy basket, which nearly came up to my shoulders, with the padded suede rails. Strangely enough, the weather wasn't any different up that high than it was on the ground, it was somewhere in the high 60's. The fall colors made the scenery even more wonderful. The quietly beautiful and serene ride was punctuated with the occasional whoosh of the burners that kept us afloat, and the mellow conversation of the other passengers. (For the record, that whoosh startled me nearly every time.)

Very soon, we were 3000 feet in the air. Richard informed us that 3000 feet is as high as we could go, legally, in this area. Just for grins, I asked him what the "powers that be" do if he flies higher. His reply "Shoot us down." We all laughed, (after a beat) and he said they could actually send them a ticket. I suddenly pictured another, although smaller, cop balloon sidling up next to us, a little red light perched on top of his balloon, asking us to pull over. It was quite a picture in my head.

We recognized roads and towns (Richard played tour guide a little bit) and saw some deer, waved at a bunch of kids, and hollered down to a bunch of golfers asking if we could play through. Richard mentioned that it had to be weird to be golfing and suddenly hearing a voice talking to you from nowhere "This is GOD."

Seriously, it was like standing on someone's balcony. Someone who happened to live in a very tall building. We felt perfectly safe. At one point I aimed the video camera right over the side (holding onto it tightly) zoomed all the way in to focus on a spot on the ground, and then slowly zoomed back out to give our friends and family a taste of what it was like being up that high.

All too soon we were drifting back down to the ground. I was amazed I wasn't nervous about landing. After all, I knew we weren't going to just touch down, upright and climb out. Richard brought us down for a bumpy landing in a plowed-over field, keeping the basket tilted precariously. He, purposely, let the balloon drag us for a bit as there was another balloon behind that looked like it was headed for our exact location. Richard was giving him some room to land. The dragging was exciting and the youngest passenger (she was 10 years old) nervously told Richard he had given the other balloon enough room already.

We were finally done dragging, and the entire basket, passengers and all slowly tipped over onto it's side. That's how we landed. Those baskets are pretty darned sturdy and have 'compartments' in them so there's not much room to bounce around on the landing. It's a good thing they're there, too. Picture a shadow box with knick-knacks in it. That was us. I ended up in a squatting position in one of the 'top' compartments, just amused at how we must all look.

After that, the big strong men, a few of the women, and the 10 year old girl, forced any of the left over hot air out of the balloon, banded it, and put it back in the big tub. The girl was elected to hop into the tub and smash down the balloon (like stomping grapes) to get even more of the remaining air out.

We were all rounded back up, piled into the van ("chase vehicle") and driven back to the Windy City Balloon Port for a champagne toast to the successful flight.

It was truly an experience. Another great big thank you to Millie, Shelley, Billy and Tillie for the ride of a lifetime! Thank you, thank you, thank you! *Mwah!*

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