|
Little Ashley had just gotten home from the fair with her daddy and her grandma. Dad and Grandma were on the porch swing, and Ashley had her helium-filled balloon that she had gotten. The wind blew, and her balloon seemed like it was trying to escape. It was almost like trying to hold on to a horse that was bent on galloping away.
Her dad warned her, "Never let go or else you'll probably never see it again." She listened well and held on tight. She kept her balloon until the helium all came out of it, and it slowly floated to the ground.
A couple months passed, and Grandma got sick. She went into the hospital. Ashley kept asking her dad about going to see her. Daddy was always too busy. He'd say, "We'll go see Grandma next week, I've got so much important work that just can't wait."
That next week just seemed to keep getting farther and farther away. Ashley kept bugging her dad about it. After a day of the usual bothering about visiting Grandma, Dad finally snapped. He said, "All right young lady, you listen here, I want you to stop bothering me about this. We'll go see your grandma very soon, and she'll be just fine until then. This work I have to do is very important. I must finish it!"
Ashley just looked at the floor and said in a sad voice, "I'm sorry for bothering you so much, Daddy, but you should never let go, or else you'll probably never see her again." Daddy turned away from Ashley and back toward his work, but his mind was far from his work. He felt a tear in his eye. His nine year old daughter had taken something he said to her and applied it to something that was much more important than a balloon from the fair.
He felt a couple tears roll down his cheeks, but then he wiped them off and smiled really big. He put down his work and turned around to his daughter and said, "This work can wait; we're going to see Grandma right now!" He took her up on his shoulder, and they went out to the car right then.
Grandma was very glad to see them of course. Daddy told her how they ended up coming on that day, and she began to cry a bit. Ashley said, "Don't be sad, Grandma." Grandma assured her she wasn't and smiled to show her.
Ashley and her daddy visited Grandma very often from then on. After a few months, Grandma died, but they still never let go. They still visit her grave and put flowers on it.
Written in 1999
|