iwant2beaskinnybitch

My nine year Sari old loves balloons.  She always has.  We fill her room with balloons on the eve of her birthday while she sleeps so when she wakes up she is greeted by them.  It is her favorite part of the day.  Sari also loves marine life and sea creatures.  Turtles in particular as we have one named Joey.  We rescued him from Grandma and Grandpa’s lake as a baby only weeks after we adopted Sarah and her brother, Drew.  Joey and balloons have been a big part of our family traditions and bonding.  Who knew the two would one day cause such a commotion at my brother’s fiance’s bridal shower?

Actually, who knew I would ever have a brother?  3 of them to be exact.  I was an only child until I was 30.  Never say “never, “  right?  So now I’m married and 40 with 2 kids, 3 brothers, 2 sisters in law, 3 nieces, a nephew, and a future sister in law.  Busy decade.

This past weekend I cohosted a bridal shower for the sis to be.  When the shower was over we had a bunch of balloons left and my daughter wanted to take some home, as did my nieces and nephews.  Unfortunately there wasn’t enough room in the cars for all the balloons and Grandma had a wonderful idea to make a celebration out of letting the balloons go and make wishes.  The kids who were previously having fits because they could not take the balloons home were thrilled with Granny’s idea.

It took my daughter a minute to realize what was happening because she was playing her Gameboy ds.  When she saw what was happening she started screaming and crying, “No! No! You can’t let them go!  You don’t understand!  The turtles!  The turtles!”

Granny got her calm enough to explain that balloon releases kill marine animals. Did you know that?  The latex and mylar balloons can easily float for miles and land in water somewhere where they are mistaken by animals for jellyfish and other prey.  The balloons caluse intestinal blockage when the animals eat them, causing emaciation, starvation, dehydration, and death.  Some animals also get tangled up in the strings and die.    My daughter is passionate about all animals, and especially turtles because they are all Joey’s relatives.   Her tears and cries were so desperate. Grandma of course apologized for not knowing and canceled the balloon release.

My daughter was relieved but the other kids were ticked!  Sari is the only tree hugger in the group and her efforts are often not really appreciated.   I appreciate them though.  And I admire her conviction to stick with it even when it makes her unpopular among her peers.  I was just like her, with passion and causes when I was a kid, but she’s stronger than I was.  I buckled under the pressure and occasionally still do in order to keep the peace.  She’s a fighter though, and I hope she manages to hold onto that spirit into adulthood when she’s less likely to lose it.

I have participated in balloon releases on many occasions and never realized that an animal could suffer because of it.  I am glad to now know about the delicate relationship between balloons and turtles because they are two of my favorite things.